"The essential characteristic of a good and healthy ruling elite, however, is that it views itself not as a function of the monarchy or the commonwealth, but as its very meaning and highest justification, and that it therefore accepts with a good conscience the sacrifice of untold human beings who, for its sake, must be reduced and lowered to incomplete human beings, to slaves, to instruments."
Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, 1886
‘The only fundamental and possible socialism is the socialisation of the selective breeding of man. A part of eugenic politics would finally land us in an extensive use of the lethal chamber. A great many people would have to be put out of existence simply because it wastes other people’s time to look after them.”
George Bernard Shaw, Lecture to the Eugenics Education Society, The Daily Express, March 4, 1910
"The moment we face it frankly we are driven to the conclusion that the community has a right to put a price on the right to live in it. If people are fit to live, let them live under decent human conditions. If they are not fit to live, kill them in a decent human way. Is it any wonder that some of us are driven to prescribe the lethal chamber as the solution for the hard cases which are at present made the excuse for dragging all the other cases down to their level, and the only solution that will create a sense of full social responsibility in modern populations?"
George Bernard Shaw, Prefaces, 1934
"As everything in what used to be called creation becomes a commodity, human beings begin to look at one another, and at themselves, in a funny way, and they see price tags. There was a time when people spoke, at least occasionally, of 'inherent worth'— if not of things, then at least of persons. It is sometimes said that since everything is for sale under the rule of The Market, nothing is sacred. The Market is not omnipotent— yet. But the process is under way and it is gaining momentum."
Harvey Cox, The Market as God
"Fascism is capitalism plus murder."
Upton Sinclair
"Through our relationship with the Incarnation, we recover our true humanity, and at the same time are delivered from that perverse individualism which is the consequence of sin, and recover our solidarity with all mankind."
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
As you may recall, George Bernard Shaw was a member of the Fabian Society, a far left organization, and an avid supporter of eugenics, which was quite popular in the US and UK in the early part of the 20th century. He, like so many other of the elites, was an early admirer of Hitler and Mussolini. He modified his views of course with age, but never apologized. Truly, there is probably no more perilous habit than the sanctifying of success.
It is the theory of the political continuum that at the extremes of the left and the right, their perspective on the individual and the human soul become remarkably similar, and the outcomes and policies tend to be indistinguishable except in their wording and rationalizations. They tend to denigrate democracy and the common public, and have a penchant for fascism.
Stocks were in rally mode this morning, for a number of reasons some of which were exogenous.
The stronger than expected retail sales number was taken in stride, once you looked 'under the hood' and saw what constituted it.
And so things were clicking along happily.
But alas, an exchange of words and a threat of further escalation in the military situation in the Mideast turned the risk lever back to off.
Stocks melted, giving up all their gains and going out near the lows.
Gold and silver rallied sharply.
VIX rose sharply.
I suspect that this new found respect will wear off if nothing occurs on the geopolitical front.
Wall Street can shift from fear to greed and back again with phenomenal speed.
Have a pleasant evening.
