"The continuity of the cultural field" (3). Two irreconcilable understandings about how reality operates.

Here is a chapter of "The continuity of the cultural field" that addresses the origins of the night and day difference between the civilizations of the West and of China.

2.2.4. shared worldviews stabilized early power societies 

"The continuity of the cultural field". (2) Modernity is dieing. What comes after Modernity ?

While writing my earlier books I published a first draft  week after week.  

For the present book I will, from time to time, publish some parts that I think illustrate a particular   flavor of our present air of the time. 

 

Today I offer a chapter about what comes after Modernity.
Your comments are welcome.

"The continuity of the cultural field" : A new project (1)

I just commented on an article written by Peter Koenig for The Saker Blog.

The substance of this comment addresses one of the matters I'm presently writing about. 

Here follows this commentary :

 

 

Digital variations : Wall 205 is online

The complete gallery of 256 digital variations that compose wall 205 is online.

Here under are a few samples from this collection. The size of each of these variations is 60 x 90 cm and the complete wall is 9.6 x 14.4 meters. 

 Click on the images to get a larger size at 1200 x 800 px. 

Digital variations : Wall 204 is online

The complete gallery of 256 digital variations composing wall 204 is online.

Here under are a few samples from this collection. The size of each of these variations is 60 x 90 cm and the complete wall is 9.6 x 14.4 meters. Click on the images to get a larger size at 1200 x 800 px. 

 

 

Digital variations : Wall 203 is online

The complete gallery of 256 digital variations composing wall 203 is online.

Here under are a few samples from this collection. 

The size of each of these variations is 60 x 90 cm and the complete wall is 9.6 x 14.4 meters. 

Click on the images to get their full size.

The ebook "First societal blow in Late-Modernity" is online

 

I formatted the series of articles titled "First devastating societal blow in Late-Modernity" in e-book form and made it available from my website.

This series has become a long text. The 2nd edition of the book totals 599 pages.

_________ 

First devastating societal blow in Late-Modernity (20)

 7.4.6. giving meaning to one’s life

Last article in this series. 8,052 words.
 

I want now to address, the perception of our present human condition, from a holistic angle. This placing into perspective, of the structural factors that shape the human condition in Late-Modernity, forms the conclusion of this long series of articles.

_________________________

Content

7.4.6.1. the whole is the ultimate purveyor of the universal potential
7.4.6.2. polarities are powering changes and transformations that open the doors to the universal potential
7.4.6.3. living species are the embodiment of life
7.4.6.4. Non-submission to the foundations of life results in the species’ extinction
7.4.6.5. the settlement of disputes, between their polarities, leads species toward more complexity
7.4.6.6. the loop from the whole to the local and back to the whole
7.4.6.7.  the true meaning of life
7.4.6.8. a new credo in After-Modernity

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First devastating societal blow in Late-Modernity (19)

7.4.3.2.  the transition from Late-Modernity to After-Modernity

This article is 7,500 words long and covers the following :

        7.4.3.2. the transition
        7.4.3.3. a creative life style
7.4.4. cheering life through pragmatism
         7.4.4.1. pragmatism in knowledge
         7.4.4.2. pragmatism in living
         7.4.4.3. pragmatism in societal organization

________________ 

Content of Part 7.4.

First devastating societal blow in Late-Modernity (18)

7.4. giving meaning to one’s life

 

This article is 5,200 words long and covers the following :

7.4.1. pointing fingers at scapegoats is no solution
7.4.1.1. Sinophobia and the yellow peril
7.4.1.2. China is the chance of humanity

7.4.2. fairy-tales, magic, dystopian adventures

7.4.3. escaping the negativity by scanning for positivity
7.4.3.1. a worldview that quietens the mind.

______________

Complete table of content of Part 7.4

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First devastating societal blow in Late-Modernity (17)

7.3. the principle of life

The determinant force driving Modernity is capital, or more precisely, it is the insidious ideology proclaiming that “the reason at work within capital” is rationality reigning supreme. Emerging in Early-Modernity “the reason” gave rise to some 6 centuries of commercial capitalism. It forced nations to adapt their political economies to their local context and so its implementation naturally took different forms.

The results, of the adoption of “the reason that is at work within capital” and its adaptation by all nations on earth to their local contexts, are now in. During all these centuries humanity has been blinded, by the illusion of material possessions, while it was savagely trampling the principle of life and unleashing multiple side-effects that are now threatening to extinguish life on earth.

How could humanity be bamboozled to unleash such a devastation on the principle of life ?

First devastating societal blow in Late-Modernity (16)

Part 7.  A changing context forces a new worldview and a new form of society to emerge

7.2. Reflections on the lessons from history

First devastating societal blow in Late-Modernity (15)

Part 7. 

A changing context forces a new worldview and a new form of society to emerge

First devastating societal blow in Late-Modernity (14)

Part 6.   The paradox of humanity’s predicament

6.1. Modernity, is the greatest achievement of humanity but it fosters life extinction

6.2. the shift in the governance-world leads to uncertainties

First devastating societal blow in Late-Modernity (13)

5. A gradual shift from a Western to an Eastern model of society

5.3. Covid-19 is a first fatal blow to Late-Modernity

Covid-19 did not collapse national economic systems as is portrayed in Western mainstream media. It was merely the catalyst that activated the clean-up of the many severe imbalances that had been accumulating since the nineteen-eighties which then exploded after the  great recession of 2007-2008 :

First devastating societal blow in Late-Modernity (12)

5.  A gradual shift from a Western to an Eastern model of society

5.2.5. the rise of the Asian model of governance

Regional Economic Blocks have a decisive governance advantage over the present world institutions. For one they group neighboring countries that have privileged and often long-standing inter-relations. Secondly they are not burdened by the weight of bureaucracy and corruption that characterize present day International Institutions. Thirdly these regional blocs are not torn apart by the ideological divisions between the declining power and the upcoming power.

First devastating societal blow in Late-Modernity (11)

5.   A gradual shift from a Western to an Eastern model of society

5.2.4. the irresistibility of Regional Economic Blocks (REBs)

A painting from 1515 turns a mirror on its Western viewers

Hell Is for White People.

"A painting from 1515 turns a mirror on its viewers" in Cabinet Magazine by Alexander Nagel.

Nagel's commentary is well worth the 5 minutes necessary to read it. Here is how Rumple describes Nagels' commentary on Metafilter :

First devastating societal blow in Late-Modernity (10)

5.  A gradual shift from a Western to an Eastern model of society

5.2.  Toward a world confederation of regional blocs (REBS)

The Western centric world institutions, created after the 2nd World War, did not adapt to a changing Geo-political reality. Western countries have been resisting the institutional reset that naturally should have followed the shifting of the center of gravity of the economy-world towards East-Asia. Under necessity the world is now starting to turn toward an alternative institutional setting to accomplish what the international institutions no longer can.  Along the last decades we observed the the first timid steps of the re-organization of the world, into Regional Economic Blocs (REBs) and the twenties, of this 21th century, will see an acceleration of that process.

An ode to blogs

You are What you Read: How to Manage your Personal Echo Chamber

By Ugo Bardi  [ member of the Club of Rome, faculty member of the University of Florence, and the author of "Extracted" (Chelsea Green 2014), "The Seneca Effect" (Springer 2017), and Before the Collapse (Springer 2019) ]

I believe that blogs are by far the best source of information for individuals like you and me.   

First devastating societal blow in Late-Modernity (9)

5. The shift from a Western to an Eastern model of society

5.1. after covid-19 reality = affirmation of regional blocs

The economic reset, that is taking place in this first part of the 21th century, is a historical event fraught with danger. The West is losing its hegemony over an evolving Late-Modernity. The center of gravity of the economy-world is moving to a nation outside the Western civilizational realm.  But the West, or would it be better to say the USA, is not taking this reset agreeably and is multiplying the provocations against China.

First devastating societal blow in Late-Modernity (8)

Part 5:  The shift from a Western to an Eastern model of society

Economic reality finances the social and cultural endeavors of a society and so the comparative influence of societies in the international sphere is given primarily by their economic power. The following table traces the evolution of economic power between the West and East-Asia over the last 20 years.

First devastating societal blow in Late-Modernity (7)

4.2. the last stand of ‘big capital holders’

Western big capital holders’ have always been well aware of the financial mess the US and Europe have gradually created for themselves. The core of their strategy now is to suck all they can out of their countries of origin and the easiest conduit to realize just that is through the national banks’ money creation capabilities.  The recently approved Cares’ act in the US gives them the legal cover they need to ensure a non-stop supply of free dollars from the Fed all the while imposing ‘the reason that is at work within capital’ to society at large.

The Cares’ act is the first step of a hastily conceived financial strategy to try to push through a radical worldwide reset of the governance-world. The plan is to finance a campaign to maximize the control of big capital holders over the whole earth by affecting the following 3 determinant factors of the governance-world :

First devastating societal blow in Late-Modernity (6)

Part 4.  The virus is the pin that deflated the bubble of everything

“  In less than three decades, a mere blink of the eye in historical terms, the United States has gone from the world’s sole superpower to a massive foundering wreck that is helpless before the coronavirus and intent on blaming the rest of the world for its own shortcomings.  … But how and why did this pitiable condition come about? Is it all Donald Trump’s fault as so many now assume? Or did the process begin earlier?

The answer for any serious student of imperial politics is the latter. ... two things are clear. One is that the process did not start under Trump, while the other is that it will undoubtedly continue regardless of who wins in November. Once collapse sets in, it’s impossible to stop.”  (1)

First devastating societal blow in Late-Modernity (5)

Part 3. an unquestionable qualitative difference

By way of introduction let me first observe that, for the first time since the emergence of High-Modernity, Western governments have answered a pandemic by privileging peoples’ lives over the profits of capital. What is it that motivated such a political turning point ?

First devastating societal blow in Late-Modernity (4)

Part 2.  Timeline of the Chinese answers to the outbreak of ‘Covid-19’

The fact that the COVID-19 epidemic broke out in Wuhan does not imply that the virus originated in Wuhan. In matter of fact the origin of COVID-19 is still unknown. Calling it “China virus” or “Wuhan virus” is thus dishonest to say the least. It reflects a will, by those who use such terms, to manipulate peoples’ minds and glue in the collective unconscious a narrative that satisfies their ideological interests.

First devastating societal blow in Late-Modernity (3)

Part 1.  Western propaganda distorts reality 

Late-Modernity, humanity’s present historical era, is being swept by two waves of worldwide changes that impact one another and announce a new historical era in the forming:

• the Late-Modern governance-world is undergoing a shift of its center of gravity from the West to the East (1)

• the side-effects of Modernity are increasingly becoming a threat to life on earth

First devastating societal blow in Late-Modernity (2)

I wrote the following in the introduction of “What is going on ? ” and it describes perfectly well what the present CoronaVirus episode, in the History of Late-Modernity, is unleashing on human societies the world over :

The spectacle of a Western break-down

I had written a comment as a response on an article titled "It’s Time for Conscious Uncoupling With China" that was written by Dan Harris and published on "The China law blog" this April 11, 2020.

_________

I now share this response on my blog because "The China Law Blog" censured it while in no way does it peddle fake-news, nor does it attack individuals, nor does it use foul language. It conveys an analytical sketch of the present moment in history. In other words refusing to publish it was a blatant act of censuring free speech. A screenshot of freedom made in the USA...

_________

First devastating societal blow in Late-Modernity (1)

I have been busy these last 4 months making one thousand and twelve digital transformations of painting 2-02 of my 'grand project' series. 

The CoronaVirus outbreak that occurred in China in the beginning of January soon locked me down in Beijing and this eliminated the brouhaha of society that helped me to focus on the technicalities of digital imaging. 

But the extraordinary nature of the epidemic, and the even more extraordinary nature of the language that was accompanying it, kept me coming back to the web. What impressed me most is that while the epidemic transformed in a pandemic the language in use in the West morphed into virulent propaganda; a sign that the pandemic is somehow radically altering the geo-political balance of power. 

My intellectual curiosity was aroused and to get a better grip on the reality I decided that after finishing this series of digital transformations I would restart to write about the societal and geo-political transformations that are taking place under our very eyes. 

What follows is a new series of posts that will form, the first draft material of, a 3rd book about our contemporary circumstances.

Book 1 :  "A growing disconnect between East and West".  Published in October 2018

Book 2 :  "What is going on ? ".  Published on the 06th of December 2019.

Book 3 :  "A first devastating blow in Late-Modernity".

____________

The 4th batch of 256 paintings of wall 202 are online

Pushing the envelope to 19.2 x 28.8 meters ...  (continuum of 1024 digital paintings). 

This 4th batch represents the 4th quarter of the wall (D) and represents 256 paintings...  

The print size of each digital painting is 60 x 90 cm and the complete gallery of this 4th quarter of wall 2-02 is now online (Gallery D = 256 paintings).

Here under are a few samples from this collection of 256 digital paintings.

The 3rd batch of 256 paintings of wall 202 are online

Pushing the envelope to 19.2 x 28.8 meters ...  (continuum of 1024 digital paintings). 

The third batch represents the 3rd quarter of the wall and represents 256 paintings...  The print size of each digital painting is 60 x 90 cm.

The complete gallery of this second quarter of wall 2-02 is online (Gallery C = 256 paintings).

Here under are a few samples from this collection of 256 digital paintings.

The 2nd batch of 256 paintings of wall 202 are online

Pushing the envelope to 19.2 x 28.8 meters ...  (continuum of 1024 digital paintings). 

This second batch represents the second quarter of 256 paintings...  The print size of each digital painting is 60 x 90 cm.

The complete gallery of this second quarter of wall 2-02 is online (Gallery B = 256 paintings).

Here under are a few samples from this collection of 256 digital paintings.

The first 256 paintings of wall 202 are online

Since Beijing is still at a standstill, due to the coronavirus spreading from Wuhan, I initiated a new series of digital variations from painting 2-02 of the grand project.

Once terminated this new wall will total 1024 digital paintings that will be available as limited edition prints sized each at 60 x 90 cm.

The complete gallery of the first quarter (A = 256 paintings) of wall 2-02 is online.

Here under are a few samples from this collection of 256 digital paintings.

Wall 201 is online

I took the opportunity of Beijing's standstill, due to the coronavirus spreading from Wuhan, to terminate a new series of digital variations,

The complete gallery of wall 2-01 is online.

Here under are a few samples from this collection of 256 digital paintings.

The seven trends that will define China in the 2020s

This is a summary and a commentary on a very interesting article by Andrew Leung titled "The seven trends that will define China in the 2020s " that was published today 2020-01-04 in the South China Morning Post.

We are rapidly sliding into a new era

The 20ths of the 21st century are going to be remembered as a turning point in world History. Vital trends have been accelerating for years and are now reaching a tipping point. The overriding factor at work here is the shift of the center of gravity of the economy-world from the West (with Washington-NewYork at its core) to the East (with Beijing-Shanghai at its core.