Beginning in the 1600s, with the Enlightenment, the ancient system of monarchy began to die. Its death throes were marked by major revolutions, among them America, France, Italy, and finally Russia at the turn of the 20th century.
The death of monarchy produced a power vacuum at a time when the world was starting to link together in ways never thought of prior to the Enlightenment. The whole thing was predicated on the invention of the printing press in Europe (the Chinese has it centuries before) and the democratization of information. As books disseminated and knowledge spread among the common folks, they became less and less enthralled by majesty and royalty.
The common man was now privy to the same information that only kings once had.
Slowly, over the course of 200 years, royalty began to be replaced with self-rule, the idea that each human being was capable of being a sovereign in their own right. They didn't need a monolithic church or divine king to tell them what was in their best interests. At worst, monarchies were destructive and deadly, even to their own subjects.
The death of monarchies reach a fever pitch in World War 1, which started as little more than a family feud among European royal houses. By the end of the war, the monarchs had been replaced by 'people's houses': legislative bodies such as parliaments. Where monarchies survived, they were primarily figureheads, such as the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, and Spain. The only one retaining any amount of real power was Britain, but even there, that power is rarely exercised in an overt manner.
Into the vacuum of power stepped competing groups and interests. They formed blocs such as political parties and the like. Before long, these power blocs became little more than mafiosi, with top leadership being handed down in a way very similar to the monarchies using hand-appointed, or in some cases genetic succession.
The battle to see which mafiosi would control the reins of power is commonly called World War 2. Political parties vied for supreme power in the wake of royal leaders. Some were wildly successful, such as the Nazi party, and had to be put down by other competing interests.
Finally, an unsteady truce was reached with two opposing ideologies at a stand-off with each other. This was the creation of the East/West paradigm and the Cold War. The two ideologies carved the world in two like rival mafia dons and dared the other to step over the line. There were various turf battles, called Korea, Vietnam, and so forth, but the truce held for several decades.
Then the Western bloc got greedy. They weren't happy with their piece of the pie and wanted the whole thing. They pushed the Eastern bloc to the point of breaking and then stepped into the gap to offer their brand of mafia rule.
Two things happened, though. One, although weakened, the Eastern bloc was not ready to surrender its turf. They played along for a bit, especially the Chinese bloc, in order to get their hands on some of the fabulous wealth being horded by the Western families. Two, the internet came along.
The latter was a massive destabilizing force. If the printing press had led to the death of monarchy and the rise of people power, then the internet was the same effect on steroids. Vast databases of information, instantaneous communications and the ability to circumvent propaganda shook the ruling mafiosi and quickly undermined their hold on power.
The internet is a power they hadn't reckoned with and can no longer put back in the bag. In the wake of the printing press, the ruling classes invented libraries. With libraries, they could at least keep control of information. Most books were lent out for a limited time and fees were charged if returned late. In the case of rare and potentially 'harmful' information, though, they could keep that in special collections and only allow limited access after an application process.
The internet created a monster, from the point of view of the mafiosi. For one, any human with access to the internet had the same information as the ruling classes. For another, it allowed people to research and learn at an amazing pace and in turn expose the machinations of the ruling classes. That was a huge mistake on their part.
It's like a hole in a dam. At first the water trickles out and is easy to plug for a time. But the pressure of the water behind the dam, and the corrosive action of the water itself continues to enlarge and undermine the dam until it collapses and a tidal wave of history ensues.
So here we are and a junction of human affairs like no other in our collective memories. We've been in a time of transition from a form of rule that lasted for thousands of years, to something that will eventually be the sovereign individual acting with enlightened self-interest to control and regulate their own affairs, and form alliances with whoever they please. In other words, the Age of Centralized Power is dying, to be replaced by something new and unprecedented.
I agree with Richard Dolan, Joseph Farrell and others that we are seeing the birth of a breakaway civilization, but I think it is nothing more than a very old practice, just on a massive scale.
I believe that the mafiosi, seeign the writing on the wall, are doing what all deposed rulers have done throughout history: they are bagging up their loot and rounding up their most trusted henchmen and going into exile.
In the past, though, there was always some Elba, some isolated refuge for these out-of-work despots. In recent times, we saw it with Ghadaffi and Mubarak squirreling away the goodies and getting the family out of harm's way. But if you are a member of the PTB, and your crimes are so heinous that the masses would never be satisfied with a simple hanging, and there was no place on Earth you could run, what would you do?
Head for the stars.
The panic among the PTB that many writers, researchers and thinkers have detected in most likely not some catastrophe from outside, but rather a rush to gather up as much loot and get out of town before the torches and pitchforks come to the door.
The whole financial mess, with its 'bailouts' and 'gold repatriation' are nothing more than signs that at least some of the most powerful mafiosi are getting ready to bail out and take their booty with them. The only place they can run where they are reasonably assured the masses can't follow, at least for now, is space.
How long this process will last is anyone's guess. We know that it took 400 years for the collapse of monarchy and the rise of republics, but the pace of change now is running at a rate no one could have anticipated. The Age of Mafia has run its course in just over 100 years, and with more and more people 'waking up', the final convulsion can not be far off.
It's safe to assume that this transition will be just as bloody and messy as past events, though on a scale unimaginable to us sitting here today. No one will be unscarred, whether physically, emotionally or spiritually.
From the perspective of centuries from now, the past 500 years may all be seen as a single event transitioning humanity from its infancy to adulthood. Indeed, as a species we are acting like unruly teenagers rebelling against the forces that ruled us through childhood, yet not quite ready to assume full responsibility as adults. We know that we can not remain attached to the apron strings, but we have no idea what we are facing 'out there'.
What is required at this point is for every human to pull back from the bills, the kids and the routine of daily life, and start contemplating the Really Big Picture. What comes after this turbulent moment in history will affect all of us, but we can no longer sit back and let someone else fix things for us. In the new age, we will all be responsible for what we become, individually and collectively.
Furthermore, if this really is the end of the nation-state and centralized government, we will all be responsible for running our own affairs. A man's home will truly be his castle. We individuals will be fully and completely responsible for our own success or failure, and the morals and ethics with which we control our lives.
The internet has brought all the information once reserved only for kings into our homes at the touch of a button. Now we all have the same rights and responsibilities that we once delegated to some 'authority' figure. The responsibility for educating ourselves and acting on what we learn is squarely in our individual hands.
And just like adolescence, there will be parents who don't want to relinquish control (PTB), and children who don't want to leave the carefree life of the parents' house (welfare recipients). These competing interests will fight the overwhelming majority of teenagers who are ready to step out on their own, and the clash will not be pretty.
Nevertheless, it is necessary. All life must grow and change, and in a fractal Universe, what happens to the individual is mirrored in eve larger scales. We are entering a new iteration that will define humanity for the next couple of millennia. It is as inevitable as sunrise and sunset. Those who prepare for it will survive, and those who don't will not. It is the nature of Nature.
Welcome to puberty, Humankind.
