Politics

 

People who are familiar with my work have some idea of my politics (I sort of talk about it in The Psionic Imperative on this site) but I think it would be fun to sort of explain how my ideas on such things work.  So here we go.

 

I'm a troublemaker.  I like social chaos. But I also like having the electricity on, the garbage picked up, the snow plowed and being able to go to the grocery store without being surrounded by armed guards.  Which means that while I think anarchy is a fun idea, in practical terms it can be more trouble than it is worth.

 

I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, an egalitarian.  I am a firm believer in aristocracy.  My ideal society is sort of a cross between 1984 and Brave New World with the physical trappings of Metropolis.  The older I get, the more convinced I am that the idea of Universal Freedom has been a mistake.

 

So what do I think psionics should do with politics?  Well, if you're familiar with my Psionic Terrorism, you probably already have a good idea of some of the techniques.  As far as action goes, I'm a pragmatist.  I'm well aware of the law of unintended consequences.  It is relatively easy to remove a given individual from office if an opponent is found who can win an election.  If the opposition is nothing more than a bunch of yapping ankle-biters (like the Democrats produced in the last one), no amount of psionics is going to change that election unless you create such a mess that everyone is very unhappy including yourself.  Remember, the electricity has to stay on to keep our computers running.   And changing the faces in the offices rarely has an significant impact.  What is necessary is to control the implementation of policy.  If you can manage that it does not matter whom is President.

 

I have always said "Give me five votes on the Supreme Court and it won't matter what anyone else thinks."  So if it comes to folks in public office, that is where I will tend to direct my energies.

 

But the primary thrust of my work is in long term stuff.  The creation of a viral meme that can infect a large population is not something that occurs overnight except in very rare historic circumstances, usually with a lot of background preparation.  I'm considering working on a major one but I'm looking at my age and wondering if I would live long enough to see the results!

 

Anyway, this is going on too long.  So one final thing to remember.  When you use psionics you are a law unto yourself.  You are accountable to no one for your actions and the end result of psionics will someday be to make the concept of "the rule of law" as quaint an anachronism as "the divine right of kings."