Listen now | A three-part Deep Dive into the psychological unravelling of Western society -- the origins, the hackable nature of our brains, and the uncertain future of democracy. (Essay and Podcast)
About whether or not the clock can turn: this partly depends on whether we will in fact be conquered by forces that will try to undo the achievements of liberty. Your going back to ancient civilization is a reminder that reading the history and literature of the past can make us wiser and less vulnerable.
I'm increasingly pessimistic that the clock can be turned back in any meaningful way because both the elites and the crowd who have become dependent/enamoured with the status quo will do EVERYTHING they can to undermine reform -- the tragedy of Cicero. This definitely doesn't bode well for how this story will end...
I don’t know what, if any, spiritual leanings or interests you may have, Julius. It occurs to me that the human history you so eloquently and thoroughly describe here reflects fully the nature of the ego based aspect of humanity, in which the false concept of separateness and an almost total identification with the physical body and personality of what is actually an energetic entity in physical form is all there is. Admittedly, this has been the prevalent belief system, but that doesn’t mean it is correct.
There is a growing recognition that we are in the midst of an unprecedented shift in consciousness for our species which includes a non conceptual knowing that we all come from and return to a Oneness; that separation is an illusion; that we can operate either out of fear (an ego based creation) or love (which is the energy underlying and powering our world).
What you describe here seems like a completely fear based merry-go-round on which humanity is doomed to be trapped. But what if our purpose here is to awaken to who and what we all truly are? What if the suffering caused by our ignorance to this Reality is the catalyst to finally pierce the veil of forgetfulness and move past the illusions of this (small “r”) reality in which we think we are living?
The quote you provided by Yuval Harari was seemingly dismissive of the soul or spirit, somehow declaring that this concept is “over”. Really? My first thought when I saw that was “Who died and made YOU God?”.
There is more than meets the limited five senses of the vehicle we use to navigate our time here, and, at least in my opinion, the tiny, little selves we pretend we are represents only a minuscule tippy top of the massive and magnificent energetic beings we truly are.
Let’s hope that the spiritual awakening hits that 10% threshold required to change humanity into the aware co-creators of reality we were meant to be and experiment with while we are here in joy and in appreciation for what each of us contribute uniquely to the whole. Humans who are awake to this eschew looking to any others to save them or lead them because they recognize there is no need to be saved from anything. And maybe that will break this cycle of insanity once and for all.
Both periods are an absolute treasure of information and insights!
Mike Duncan's "The Storm before the Storm" about the gradual unravelling, precedent by precedent, of the late Republic is one of my favorite books that I find myself returning to over and over again as our own unravelling continues to unfold.
Hi Julius - you can sure tell a good story. Your concerns are in agreement with Bruce Pardy, Whitney Webb and your stories line up with the historical cycles of Martin Armstrong who always says something to the effect of "Everything changes except human nature."
When the lie of superhuman and supernatural leadership is sold to the peasants it is statecraft; when the leadership believes in that lie, it becomes hubris.
It's extraordinary how many people can see where govt goes wrong in issues that they personally have lots of experience with, but maintain a firm belief that the govt is correct on all the other issues that they don't have personal experience with.
I wonder if it's a combination of both. When I see how many people react to things like the Covid lies, and so on, I'm often left with the impression that it's the reaction of someone protecting their worldview to insulate themselves from the fear of being left adrift if govt isn't actually there to watch over them... a kind of learned helplessness underpinned by faith in govt as a benevolent and rational entity.
Actually I was thinking of the Scottish Enlightenment when the entire thesis of divine royalty and God’s vicar on earth were disproved. Locke suggested constitutional monarchy as a transitional system while the Americans went directly to a republic.
I tend towards the Julian Jaynes theory of the Bicameral Mind. That prior to 3000 or so years ago, human consciousness was quite different, and listened exclusively to the Voice of Authority or voices of the gods.....emanating from one side of the brain. You might say that religion still represents this.
Present company excepted.....I also notice in the Substack world how very forelock-tugging many commenters are to the Substack author.....if he/she has notoriety of some sort. It becomes a cult of personality is some cases. Don't take that the wrong way Julius.....you always get right down here with us 😁.
A commenter can say something in the forum below which is identical or more than the author above is saying.....but the commenter below will always be put in second place by other submissive readers. Why? Because the Voice of Authority has been established, and it is NOT in the forums below.
Many people are still very attached to seeking a Voice of Authority. They do not want to count on their own thought processes.
A car is skidding uncontrolled on ice. If analyzed there will be moments in that skid where the car is traveling normally on the road. Are these brief instances of non-skid, normal?
All of these categories imply some kind of order, corrupt as it may be. But "unraveling" and "chaos", especially chaos, contradict this. Surely chaos implies no one is in charge.
Discussing the psychology of people arguing about how to connect the 8-track cassette to the blue tooth in a "car" with no engine is interesting. But in no way is it a car.
If say %25 this Monday started eating locally and homeschooling, the change would collapse existing faux order by the end of summer.
Every day I have people coming to me and asking how the tarifs and the buy Canadian thing is working for me. Almost with out exception, they are baby boomers, and appear upper middle class. (They benefit greatly from the status quo)
Here is the thing:
1. They display amazing lack of knowledge of the food they eat and where it comes from. (Snow on the ground and they want Alberta Broccoli)
2. They also are surprised to learn that heating a greenhouse in January is extremely expensive and the carbon tax made it more so. As a result, the cost of growing is higher than the selling price.
3. It never occured to most of these people to buy Canadian until CBC told them to.
4. They also don't understand the impact that industrial agriculture has on food. It never occurs to them, that the big companies are switching to Mexico from California to grow vegetables because the soil in California is burned out, not because of tarifs.
My point is, these people are so a part of what is, that they cannot conceptualize anything different. For them eating locally is a virtue signal, and when they have to eat food that is less than perfect, they will be on to the next thing. This is a large group in our population, and they are presently the ones making the decisions in government & business.
I hate to sound so negative, but the general level of thinking out there today amazes me. As if they just wait for their basic programming from the powers that be, and go with it. The depth of a finger bowl.
I hear you, but stay away from psychology. I find thinking of these "humans" as domesticates (unable to survive and reproduce without minders) more helpful.
I doubt they think any of what you wrote. They regurgitate.
I would say, after long years of studying these issues, that there are three components to the reason for this madness, which we are now seeing again in another variant:
1. The Voice of Authority evolutionary component, usually funneled through organized religion and a society's institutions. In other words, it is the reason that institutions have a primal authority and serve a deep human need.
2. Groupthink/Hive Mind As you have pointed out, this arose in large part from a human survival requirement. There has also been credible work done on the idea that species, and then smaller factions of those species (such as families) are part of underlying organizing systems. Family Systems Therapy, for instance, is based on this idea.
3. The unconscious level of mankind described by Sigmund Freud as Id, Ego, Superego. When the Id takes over in a person, we know it as addiction or as Cluster-B Disorder. The "mind-virus" emanates from the Id of an individual before it spreads and infects their vulnerable followers. Andrew Lobaczewski, Psychologist/Psychiatrist and author of the classic book on Ponerology (political evil) observed that totalitarianism begins with Psychopathy (Cluster-B) at the top, in a political situation. I agree. Likewise, in the smaller unit of the family, a mind-virus will spread through a Cluster-B parent..
When you see the individuals of the Royal family today, and Charles especially....I think it inspires an onlooker to prefer a republic!
Charles is a WEF-man globalist. Perhaps British monarchs have long been the globalist elite types. They are not on the side of the people. They are on the side of the traitors.
It's ironic that the ONLY Western nation grounded in classical liberal values today that is still fighting to preserve itself is Israel. Every other Western nation has completely succumbed to the false narratives that are rotting out their own cultures. Israel also appears to be the only Western nation that is fully awake to the existential danger of the illiberal belief system that is at war not just with Israel but with the entire Western system -- all other nations are busy persecuting those who are trying to wave the warning flags.
Israel's stance is due to its unique history in particular, but you might say that many countries have a unique history, and they have succumbed nonetheless.
I suspect that the loss of cultural self-confidence is a very strong weakening agent. Israel has been wise to hold onto this, through the many challenges.
While I am mentioning the work of Francisco Gil-white (he and I do lock horns on occasion, but generally we see things the same way)....he offered the first theory I found plausible about why the Jews have been the world's scapegoat class, for a very long time. He believes that anti-semitism goes back to the reign of ancient ruler Sargon of Akkad, and a shift in perspective. Could well be; tallies with everything I know. The only caveat I would add is that the more they are scapegoated, the more they are pushed to the "prey" end of the empathy spectrum....and then the more they are scapegoated again. Can potentially be self-defeating in that way.
Though the Jews are still standing, despite it all.
And in the same vein, Israel is either going to shift world perspectives again, or die trying.
The West needs to awaken through a critical mass, or perish. We cannot continue this way.
About whether or not the clock can turn: this partly depends on whether we will in fact be conquered by forces that will try to undo the achievements of liberty. Your going back to ancient civilization is a reminder that reading the history and literature of the past can make us wiser and less vulnerable.
I'm increasingly pessimistic that the clock can be turned back in any meaningful way because both the elites and the crowd who have become dependent/enamoured with the status quo will do EVERYTHING they can to undermine reform -- the tragedy of Cicero. This definitely doesn't bode well for how this story will end...
Yes, hard to be optimistic--but I think that energies of renewal and goodness might work in constructive ways that we cannot yet see.
💯 Crisis and opportunity are often two sides of the same coin.
I don’t know what, if any, spiritual leanings or interests you may have, Julius. It occurs to me that the human history you so eloquently and thoroughly describe here reflects fully the nature of the ego based aspect of humanity, in which the false concept of separateness and an almost total identification with the physical body and personality of what is actually an energetic entity in physical form is all there is. Admittedly, this has been the prevalent belief system, but that doesn’t mean it is correct.
There is a growing recognition that we are in the midst of an unprecedented shift in consciousness for our species which includes a non conceptual knowing that we all come from and return to a Oneness; that separation is an illusion; that we can operate either out of fear (an ego based creation) or love (which is the energy underlying and powering our world).
What you describe here seems like a completely fear based merry-go-round on which humanity is doomed to be trapped. But what if our purpose here is to awaken to who and what we all truly are? What if the suffering caused by our ignorance to this Reality is the catalyst to finally pierce the veil of forgetfulness and move past the illusions of this (small “r”) reality in which we think we are living?
The quote you provided by Yuval Harari was seemingly dismissive of the soul or spirit, somehow declaring that this concept is “over”. Really? My first thought when I saw that was “Who died and made YOU God?”.
There is more than meets the limited five senses of the vehicle we use to navigate our time here, and, at least in my opinion, the tiny, little selves we pretend we are represents only a minuscule tippy top of the massive and magnificent energetic beings we truly are.
Let’s hope that the spiritual awakening hits that 10% threshold required to change humanity into the aware co-creators of reality we were meant to be and experiment with while we are here in joy and in appreciation for what each of us contribute uniquely to the whole. Humans who are awake to this eschew looking to any others to save them or lead them because they recognize there is no need to be saved from anything. And maybe that will break this cycle of insanity once and for all.
It's amazing how many interesting subtle and overt lessons and analogies Rome and Ancient Greece (but especially Rome) offer.
Both periods are an absolute treasure of information and insights!
Mike Duncan's "The Storm before the Storm" about the gradual unravelling, precedent by precedent, of the late Republic is one of my favorite books that I find myself returning to over and over again as our own unravelling continues to unfold.
The rock bottom of everything that we do in the west is energy. And the most concise explanation of our energy future is Dr Tim Morgan at https://surplusenergyeconomics.wordpress.com/2025/03/30/301-how-bad-could-this-get/
Hi Julius - you can sure tell a good story. Your concerns are in agreement with Bruce Pardy, Whitney Webb and your stories line up with the historical cycles of Martin Armstrong who always says something to the effect of "Everything changes except human nature."
When the lie of superhuman and supernatural leadership is sold to the peasants it is statecraft; when the leadership believes in that lie, it becomes hubris.
Probably over simplified, but I think accurate
💯
It's extraordinary how many people can see where govt goes wrong in issues that they personally have lots of experience with, but maintain a firm belief that the govt is correct on all the other issues that they don't have personal experience with.
Do you think that is blind faith or since the enlightenment a foolish belief that government is rational?
I wonder if it's a combination of both. When I see how many people react to things like the Covid lies, and so on, I'm often left with the impression that it's the reaction of someone protecting their worldview to insulate themselves from the fear of being left adrift if govt isn't actually there to watch over them... a kind of learned helplessness underpinned by faith in govt as a benevolent and rational entity.
I suspect it is a dependency need, from out of our evolutionary past. Many of us still seek the Voice of Authority in many ways.
I think that the eternity at the father’s knee that continues to sell the narrative
You are referring to cultural indoctrination? We learn our deepest belief systems from the trusted adults around us in childhood.
For instance, I am always quite amazed at the way so many Brits still worship the monarchy....as if they are gods. Even the intelligent Brits.
Actually I was thinking of the Scottish Enlightenment when the entire thesis of divine royalty and God’s vicar on earth were disproved. Locke suggested constitutional monarchy as a transitional system while the Americans went directly to a republic.
I tend towards the Julian Jaynes theory of the Bicameral Mind. That prior to 3000 or so years ago, human consciousness was quite different, and listened exclusively to the Voice of Authority or voices of the gods.....emanating from one side of the brain. You might say that religion still represents this.
Present company excepted.....I also notice in the Substack world how very forelock-tugging many commenters are to the Substack author.....if he/she has notoriety of some sort. It becomes a cult of personality is some cases. Don't take that the wrong way Julius.....you always get right down here with us 😁.
A commenter can say something in the forum below which is identical or more than the author above is saying.....but the commenter below will always be put in second place by other submissive readers. Why? Because the Voice of Authority has been established, and it is NOT in the forums below.
Many people are still very attached to seeking a Voice of Authority. They do not want to count on their own thought processes.
A car is skidding uncontrolled on ice. If analyzed there will be moments in that skid where the car is traveling normally on the road. Are these brief instances of non-skid, normal?
All of these categories imply some kind of order, corrupt as it may be. But "unraveling" and "chaos", especially chaos, contradict this. Surely chaos implies no one is in charge.
Discussing the psychology of people arguing about how to connect the 8-track cassette to the blue tooth in a "car" with no engine is interesting. But in no way is it a car.
If say %25 this Monday started eating locally and homeschooling, the change would collapse existing faux order by the end of summer.
Every day I have people coming to me and asking how the tarifs and the buy Canadian thing is working for me. Almost with out exception, they are baby boomers, and appear upper middle class. (They benefit greatly from the status quo)
Here is the thing:
1. They display amazing lack of knowledge of the food they eat and where it comes from. (Snow on the ground and they want Alberta Broccoli)
2. They also are surprised to learn that heating a greenhouse in January is extremely expensive and the carbon tax made it more so. As a result, the cost of growing is higher than the selling price.
3. It never occured to most of these people to buy Canadian until CBC told them to.
4. They also don't understand the impact that industrial agriculture has on food. It never occurs to them, that the big companies are switching to Mexico from California to grow vegetables because the soil in California is burned out, not because of tarifs.
My point is, these people are so a part of what is, that they cannot conceptualize anything different. For them eating locally is a virtue signal, and when they have to eat food that is less than perfect, they will be on to the next thing. This is a large group in our population, and they are presently the ones making the decisions in government & business.
Virtue-signalling is almost the sole driving force in many people today. Must be badly in need of validation.
I hate to sound so negative, but the general level of thinking out there today amazes me. As if they just wait for their basic programming from the powers that be, and go with it. The depth of a finger bowl.
Hackable brains indeed.
I hear you, but stay away from psychology. I find thinking of these "humans" as domesticates (unable to survive and reproduce without minders) more helpful.
I doubt they think any of what you wrote. They regurgitate.
For me, the Milgram experiments prove it.
I would say, after long years of studying these issues, that there are three components to the reason for this madness, which we are now seeing again in another variant:
1. The Voice of Authority evolutionary component, usually funneled through organized religion and a society's institutions. In other words, it is the reason that institutions have a primal authority and serve a deep human need.
2. Groupthink/Hive Mind As you have pointed out, this arose in large part from a human survival requirement. There has also been credible work done on the idea that species, and then smaller factions of those species (such as families) are part of underlying organizing systems. Family Systems Therapy, for instance, is based on this idea.
3. The unconscious level of mankind described by Sigmund Freud as Id, Ego, Superego. When the Id takes over in a person, we know it as addiction or as Cluster-B Disorder. The "mind-virus" emanates from the Id of an individual before it spreads and infects their vulnerable followers. Andrew Lobaczewski, Psychologist/Psychiatrist and author of the classic book on Ponerology (political evil) observed that totalitarianism begins with Psychopathy (Cluster-B) at the top, in a political situation. I agree. Likewise, in the smaller unit of the family, a mind-virus will spread through a Cluster-B parent..
Good work, Julius!
When you see the individuals of the Royal family today, and Charles especially....I think it inspires an onlooker to prefer a republic!
Charles is a WEF-man globalist. Perhaps British monarchs have long been the globalist elite types. They are not on the side of the people. They are on the side of the traitors.
You would grasp what Anthropologist Francisco Gil-White is saying here, Julius.
https://franciscogilwhite.substack.com/p/arab-narrative-war-of-1948-collapse-of-left
💯
It's ironic that the ONLY Western nation grounded in classical liberal values today that is still fighting to preserve itself is Israel. Every other Western nation has completely succumbed to the false narratives that are rotting out their own cultures. Israel also appears to be the only Western nation that is fully awake to the existential danger of the illiberal belief system that is at war not just with Israel but with the entire Western system -- all other nations are busy persecuting those who are trying to wave the warning flags.
Israel's stance is due to its unique history in particular, but you might say that many countries have a unique history, and they have succumbed nonetheless.
I suspect that the loss of cultural self-confidence is a very strong weakening agent. Israel has been wise to hold onto this, through the many challenges.
While I am mentioning the work of Francisco Gil-white (he and I do lock horns on occasion, but generally we see things the same way)....he offered the first theory I found plausible about why the Jews have been the world's scapegoat class, for a very long time. He believes that anti-semitism goes back to the reign of ancient ruler Sargon of Akkad, and a shift in perspective. Could well be; tallies with everything I know. The only caveat I would add is that the more they are scapegoated, the more they are pushed to the "prey" end of the empathy spectrum....and then the more they are scapegoated again. Can potentially be self-defeating in that way.
Though the Jews are still standing, despite it all.
And in the same vein, Israel is either going to shift world perspectives again, or die trying.
The West needs to awaken through a critical mass, or perish. We cannot continue this way.
Those born in the West post WW2 have had it too good, existentially. The anti Western ideology and thinking have found fertile ground.
Israel has been fighting for its existence that entire time. They have had to hold foundational values close. The opposing values are in their face.
I think you are right in that Israel always had to remain aware and on their toes, so to speak. They could not afford to become lazy or apathetic.
Evolutionary theories which have a great deal to do with all of this are
-- John Bowlby's Attachment Theory
-- the theory of trauma responses of Fight/Flight/Freeze/Fawn
Agreed on both points!
You might also try the Robert Cialdini books: "Influence" and "Pre-Suasion".
Maybe the only solution is a new kind of human?