The US Empire is based on the mastery of storytelling. Making reality through propaganda.
China isn't as good at it, but seems better at physically making and changing things - poverty elimination, high speed rail, the world's biggest reforestation.
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Lots of differences in the mentality. Engineers think of money as a public utility, the flow of which is used to facilitate other material flows. Storytellers think of money as a matter of trust, confidence, faith in the system.
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In military matters engineers think logistically, in terms of getting the forces to the right places with all the things they need. Storytellers think of breaking the other side's will and morale and maintaining one's own side.
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In education and employment storytellers look for people who can tell a good story and who can get audiences. Engineers look to train people who have the specific skills to do the material tasks.
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Once you see the dynamic, you start to see examples of it everywhere.
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Storytellers assume everyone else is lying all the time and are surprised when their opponents actually do what they say.
Engineers are baffled when they find their patient real-world work is undermined by people believing provably false things.
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@robertdkim
It goes deeper than that though - there's a whole way they write history and rewrite it as it is happening.
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@dougvalentine77
Looking forward to checking this out. Appreciate your work on this. What's fascinating about this moment is to see that China (and Russia) aren't trying to win at the storytelling game but persisting in making advances in the real material world.
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@justinpodur
Stories about the mistreatment
of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang as told by western media is amazing considering Muslims worldwide have been continuously demonised for the last twenty years by the same media.
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@justinpodur
Entertainment. More intense at every stage: cinema, radio, TV, social media... Entertainment!!
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@justinpodur
It’d be interesting to think about how this has changed over time, and also who the storytelling is targeted at. Also not sure ‘storytelling’ is the right descriptor for what is happening right now.
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@justinpodur
A system will refine and perfect that which it depends on to maintain itself. Modern capitalism's solution to its contradictions is full-scale deception and social-engineering of the worst sort. If you are freed from the constraints of justice, you can master its circumvention.
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@justinpodur
@canto_general
I think current events demonstrate the waning of American soft power in many parts of the world. This is particularly true for Russia where American storytelling once played a powerful role in dismantling communism, but ultimately led to disenchantment and resentment.
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