Every day, humans make different kinds of observations about their surroundings. Based on our cultural and educational experience, we may come to different conclusions. However, under the backdrop of our work, school, or home life, we may tend to look more at the superficial side of things. This philosophical story talks about how deep below the superficial surface one could possibly go when making an observation.
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Things were getting very mundane. Every day, I would pass by the same buildings and the same houses along the way. Life, as I knew it, seemed to be flowing at a constant rate without any changes. The boss would introduce something new into the mix, but we would always work towards the same goal. So, I thought, "well, what else could I discover if I saw and heard nearly 'everything' in my neighborhood". Apparently, that would not be the case.
Fast forward a few days later, and I got up a little bit earlier than usual in the morning and did my usual routine of taking a shower, getting dressed, eating a light breakfast, and warming up my car to go to work. As I was waiting for my car to warm up, I looked far into the distance trying to forget about the long, monotonous, and boring workday ahead. "Is this day going to get any more interesting?", I thought. After a few seconds, I had this "eureka" moment.
I took out a pencil and paper and began sketching the design of a building that was located about two miles from where I was. Given that I was situated on a hill, I had a higher vantage point and was able to make out a lot of the details of the building. It was a relatively new apartment building with multiple floors. Each floor had its own set of lights and patios where tenants could sit and enjoy the view of the suburban area.
When I arrived at work, I took my pencil sketch to one of my coworkers during the lunch break. He had a passion for buildings and always liked to tell the history about them and why architects may have chosen certain elements to stand out. When I showed my sketch to him he looked at it and pondered for a long time before telling me a story. He said, "You know, this reminds me of a book I read about another country. Back then, I wasn't interested at all with architecture, but more with the context of the buildings."
"What do you mean?", I asked, completely puzzled.
"Well, many years ago, one of my friends told me about a fictional story he wrote for his personal collection that focused on a conversation between two people who lived in the harshest capitalistic post-industrialized nation called VERIXAD on the planet ZEON-0324A, located several light-years from the center of the galaxy. It's been quite a while, but here's how my own version of the story goes", he began.
A young aspiring female philosophy student was inspired by a middle-aged man who she met in the park. He happened to be a professor who specialized in architecture. He asked the student to say what she noticed about a nice-looking apartment building in the distance. She literally had nothing to say at first, but after some encouragement, she simply talked about the obvious things. You know, it has lights, floors, walls, et cetera. Then the man asked her if there was anything peculiar about the place.
When she replied that there was nothing odd, the old man expressed his thoughts about how she was right in pointing out the features of the place. Then he went on to talk about why it was so. Buildings with such nice features and amenities come at a cost. The costs of maintenance and upgrades are shouldered by the owner of the property who may decide to raise the costs of rent and utilities for tenants.
Now, if we look at the surrounding place, we see that there are several industrial complexes surrounded by smaller apartments that house working-class citizens. The natural follow-up question would be: Why is there a high-end apartment in the middle of all the cheaper working-class apartments? The old man also pointed out that there were two other high-end apartments being built just a few miles away from the one that the woman saw.
If we imagined ourselves on a helicopter that overlooked the suburban town, the sudden development of new apartment buildings could mean that new middle-class people are entering the town. Where are these middle-class people coming from? When the student couldn't answer the question, the professor replied that he would have been just as stumped. If you could find an answer that means they come from nowhere! So, that means that avenue of analysis must be put aside for later.
Let's say that no one enters the town, and the local ruling parties in that area decide to randomly put apartment buildings meant for middle-class people. We must now ask the following questions: (1) How many people live there? and (2) How is the job market? To answer the first question, simply look at the number of cars parked in that apartment. At night, it's about half-filled so it's about half the people.
As for the job market, lots of people are still unemployed and searching for a decent job that will provide them with the proper amount of hours and pay level. What does this tell us? This shows that the only way that middle-class people could live here is if they move here. The biggest incentive for a middle-class person or family to move here is the development of new living spaces and jobs suited for them.
It was at this point that the student asked the professor why the local ruling parties of a working-class town would need middle-class people. The professor laughed and said that the pattern was a classic move to gentrifying the town. Gentrification gives the ruling party an avenue to increase local taxes for rent, utilities, and properties in the area for everyone - including working-class people. You might ask, why gentrification?
Now, if we are in our little helicopter - we would have to move even higher to understand the broader perspective. When we've reached a higher altitude, what do we see? We see the nation! So, at the national level, multiple factors are at play. Rising costs of living, increasing income disparity, lower living standards, a lagging trade sector, and a great focus on defense spending are the primary drivers for such a big change across all communities. The power of gentrification is in business profits and taxes. Part of these taxes goes to the national ruling party who will inject money into key economic sectors.
This all sounds well and good. Any nation would want to recover its economy if it is in decline. However, the greater picture doesn't look like that. To understand why we would need to hover over the entire planet to see the global view of things. Our nation has a strong vested interest in controlling international affairs, sovereign ruling parties, and trade. It's just like any other country that rose to prominence in its heydey. Complete power and control is the name of the game.
How do they achieve that? First, let's focus on trade. How is our country's trading status? The student, who was eager to share her knowledge, said that the country that they lived in was engaged in a long-drawn trade conflict with another country. this was caused by the difference in annual transport of goods and services that ultimately affected business revenues. One country had accused the other of intentionally causing this difference in trade revenue for the purpose of destabilizing key support for their economy.
The professor complimented the girl for her observations. Then he asked - Do you really think there is a conflict? When he saw the student's puzzled look, he mentioned that trading involves the use of planes, ships, and large trucks that deliver goods to various wholes and retail companies as part of the supply chain. As of that time, there was a massive supply chain issue that was caused by a significant lack of staff at the shipping entry ports of the country. To make matters worse, a global plague resulted in an increase in travel and work restrictions.
Our closest economic rivals and her allies are advancing by leaps and bounds because of their streamlined and cost-effective production processes and rapidly expanding trade with other countries. How do we stop this? I will let you think for yourself, but here's a hint - several countries have supported an international probe regarding whether the origin and spread of the global plague were caused intentionally. The student nodded in understanding.
Then the man continued. Going back to the supply chain crisis, we have to ask ourselves why do we have to prolong such an issue? Couldn't we just add more staff, re-direct ships to operating ports, and begin the development of more advanced shipping docks to expand our trade? The student agreed and said that it was the most practical thing to do. The professor smiled and said that having the supply chain issue was actually part of the plan.
You see, a supply chain crisis will have multiple purposes. First, the national ruling bodies can now have a reason to raise the prices of goods and services by a considerable amount. This will work as long as the intentional stoppage of inbound imports to the country is not included in the mainstream news. Second, the central media corporations can boost the narrative that rival countries are responsible for the so-called 'serious' and 'unfair' sanctions on our country - even though these 'serious' sanctions did not really exist.
It was at this point, that the student protested. She countered that there were legal sanctions between the two rivaling countries for reasons other than the supply crisis. It was caused by the trade deficit. The professor simply replied that our country has imposed sanctions on seemingly big sectors of our rival country. However, if you looked closely, you would see that the specific industries and companies that are sanctioned do not have a profound impact on the GDP growth of the rival country. Thus, the rival country will respond with counter-sanctions that do not immediately affect our GDP, but the central media will use this as the so-called 'proof' why there is a decrease in the number of products, goods, and services in our country - even though the supply crisis was intentionally caused by the ruling body.
The student then asked what would be the financial benefit of impacting your own GDP by having a supply crisis. To that statement, the professor complimented the student for the question. After a while of silence, he asked the student why our country was founded in the first place. The student said that it was for justice, equality, freedom, and democracy for all. That it was run by the people...
The student's analysis was cut off by the sounds of laughter as the professor nearly fell off his seat laughing. He asked the student if she really believed that. When she said yes, the professor mentioned that if there was really equality that was governed by the people, why is it that there is such a large wealth disparity. It was certainly not a choice for the population to be in poverty. Then, what 'people' are we talking about? Who are the 'people' making the actual decisions? The ruling authorities? Well, that's part of the equation. The professor then asked the student what people the government actually listens to. The student replied - lobbyists and powerful organizations. As if to continue to the student's statement, the professor said that if we look into who these lobbyists are, we will find that they are all elite, wealthy, and interconnected individuals with an ultimate goal of obtaining even more wealth and power.
The professor then retreated to the main topic and said that if we connect the dots, the supply chain crisis coupled with the need for a boost in medical care operations due to the global plague are perfect reasons why a general tax raise would need to be implemented by the ruling authorities at the behest of powerful business, medical, and pharmaceutical lobbying groups. With the recent introduction of the skin microchip implant, this scenario sets a serious precedent for further population control and monitoring.
At this point, the professor could see that the student was almost at the point of mental exhaustion, so he redirected the conversation to talk about other topics like the weather and the upcoming digital currency conference before politely parting ways with her.