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The
way the real world works, part 3
by marriah,
13th July 2001.
The real world has problems because knowledge is
restricted. The way to solve those problems is to make all knowledge
completely free.
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As I worked in these
areas, I noticed that no matter how much knowledge I acquired to
apply to my environment, the effect was always limited, mainly by
the other people around me. If something can be considered
knowledge, it is only because the knowledge can be applied, and only
because the application has an intended physical effect. Otherwise,
if there is no intended effect, one isn’t really working with
knowledge but a figment of one’s own imagination. In that case,
there are other forces at work that one is not aware of. It is one’s
duty to figure out those forces.
I decided at the end of
college that it would be impossible to know what those forces are by
staying in an academic environment. I had to go to the "front lines"
where people actually live their lives: their jobs, their families,
their neighborhoods, etc. That meant, instead of being sealed off
from the "real world" and ensconced in the "fake’ academic world, I
had to go out and experience for myself what was happening so I
could figure it out.
This is my report. First, the only
reason the "real world" is called the real world is because you
aren’t provided with food or shelter, the two most important parts
of life. Clothing is more of a long-term purchase, but one must buy
food constantly and pay rent or a mortgage every month. Unless one
is wealthy, that fact automatically requires one to get a job.
Otherwise, in a college or family environment, the housing and food
is provided, and thus work is entirely voluntary, in the sense that
you can choose to work or not, and you can choose what kind of work
to do.
Second, the market requires that employers pay more
money to more knowledgeable and skilled people in order to keep them
from going to somebody else. The less knowledgeable and skilled
people automatically get paid less. The catch, though, is that since
the knowledgeable people are paid more, they are also required to do
more. Hence, they have less time for idleness, less time for
conversation, less time for social interaction that is purely
recreational. In contrast, the people who are paid less often have
more time for social interaction and recreation.
This is a
key point. In any market, the only way knowledgeable people transfer
their knowledge and skills to other people is by producing a product
for others to buy and examine, or by being paid for it. Fortunately,
other knowledgeable people can purchase these products and services.
But the people without the knowledge simply cannot, first because
they probably don’t know about the product or services to begin
with, and second because they cannot afford it even if they know
about it.
As a natural result, the people who are the
smartest and have the most knowledge are the least able to share it
with a multitude of other people. Others are forced to make an
appointment, and those appointments are often short and to the
point. That doesn’t allow much time for exploration and explanation
of knowledge. Conversely, the people with the least amount of
knowledge have the greatest ability to share what they know with
you. The problem is that since they don’t know anything, the most
they can do is gossip about things they don’t know anything about,
or talk a lot about themselves. The gossip inevitably entails bad
things that they know about, because it is the most provocative, and
the easiest stimulant to conversation.
Since the knowledge
isn’t being transferred from those who know to those who don’t know,
what we see is the automatic condition of structural poverty. The
poor stay poor simply because they don’t know how to improve
themselves in any way. The rich stay rich, and get richer, because
they are always increasing their knowledge and being paid a lot of
money to give the knowledge to a lucky few.
Here I come to a
crucial point. Knowledge is a determining force, like an ocean wave
that knocks out everything in its path. You don’t use knowledge, it
uses you. Often, what we see as people's actions is not the result
of deliberate and intentional will, but because it is the only thing
they know. This isn’t to say that they don’t have free will. If
given the choice between one action and another, most will probably
make a choice that is based on their free will. But knowledge, or
lack thereof, constrains the will. If a person is in a desert and
has only orange juice to drink, no matter how much water he wishes
he had, he will not be able to drink water. Thus, he is forced to
drink the orange juice. The person wants the water, but takes the
orange juice instead.
Here’s the next crucial point. Not
only is knowledge a determining force, it has a life of its own. One
does not seek knowledge, one is drawn to it. One does not create
knowledge, one finds it and shares it. One does not know something,
one perceives merely what already exists and uses it. One does not
learn something in the sense that you discover it; one merely
acquires knowledge like clothing, and wears it for the right
environment: light clothing for warm weather, heavy clothing for
cold weather. Likewise, each bit of knowledge acts as a connection
between the person and the environment, achieving the intended
purpose of the person’s free will.
Thus, with knowledge, it
isn’t intellectual people who think of ideas. Rather, the ideas are
simply closer to the intellectual people than to others, and it is
the job of the intellectuals to explore and expose what is in their
environment. Like shelter, food or clothing, knowledge has a
transforming effect on the individual. It makes the individual feel
warm, full, and secure. The individual does not seek knowledge
because the individual is interested in knowing. Rather, the
knowledge enhances the individual’s natural abilities. Certain
knowledge simply enhances the individual more than other knowledge.
The knowledge consumes the individual, rather than the individual
consuming the knowledge. This is what makes revelation, inspiration,
and intuition possible; one simply must be open to it.
Such
is the case with the real world. Only if a person has money can he
implement his will and get what he wants. And money follows
knowledge. Thus, the most knowledgeable people are usually the most
free because they not only know how to do things, but they actually
can do them. In contrast, the poorest people have no knowledge, and
thus no ability to do the things they want to do. They end up being
the least free people. The rich are more free than the poor only
because they can actually implement their free will.
People
who have knowledge primarily share it with other people who have
similar knowledge. Thus businessmen share with businessmen,
politicians with politicians, thinkers with thinkers, and so on.
These relationships constitute professional groups. Yet, these
professional groups share the knowledge freely within, in order to
enhance the profession. They simply restrict it everywhere else, and
charge for it.
Since the knowledge is restricted by those
who have it, there is no way for it to be implemented, either among
the poor, or even among the rich. The rich are unable to implement
their knowledge because it stays within the confines of the
professional relationships they have, and doesn’t often leave. The
rich don’t share their professional knowledge among their families,
or use it in their personal lives. Accordingly, their personal lives
sometimes suffer, especially if they spend so much time sharing
their knowledge in their profession. The poor suffer constantly
because of their lack of knowledge, often recognizing the suffering
as just another part of life, which is the only way they can endure
it. Their families suffer because they don’t know how to properly
relate to each other. They aren’t able to pursue their passions.
Religion and spirituality sometimes provide the only remedy.
But this just means people go from one restricted source of
knowledge to another. At least they feel better about it.
When knowledge is restricted in any way and cannot be
implemented in everyday life, people inevitably suffer because they
are unable to direct their lives as they wish. Hence, they are less
free, and people recognize this. So they turn to religion, science,
and other sources of restricted knowledge in order to free
themselves. This is somewhat like going to a thief who has stolen
your food, and paying him to get it back.
The only possible
remedy is for knowledge itself to be unrestricted. This can happen
in only one way. Knowledge must be like the structure of the brain:
contained in many disparate parts and reassembled when needed, so
that it is both everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Knowledge
should not be possessed or distributed by a single source.
Fortunately, the computer revolution is recognizing this with the
Open Source movement.
Knowledge should not be distributed by
corporations, governments, scientific institutions, or universities
alone. Instead, every single person should become a peddler of a
fragment of knowledge, just as the peddlers from the 18th and 19th
century used to sell home remedies by traveling from place to place.
This is also the strategy of building a church, sending missionaries
out to teach knowledge to the uninitiated.
In order for this
to happen, though, every individual must make it his or her
responsibility to know something to pass on to others. It must be
practical, capable of implementation in every area of life. Hence,
knowledge should not only be unrestricted, it should not be limited
in scope. Knowledge must not be focused. Instead, one bit of
knowledge should connect will all other bits, to constitute not just
a single discipline, but a unified field of knowledge, incorporating
all disciplines and seeing the whole of everything.
Knowledge should be completely free. Friendships should
start by sharing it, and should stop when there is no more knowledge
to be shared. Romances should commence with shared intellectual
interests, which can only be implemented if two hearts are united.
Sharing knowledge should be as sacred as giving birth to a new born
baby. Restricting knowledge should be as horrible as infanticide.
The only reason some groups of people have a monopoly on
some areas of knowledge is because no one else has it. That’s the
way the market works. You don’t pay 5 dollars for a glass of water
at a restaurant when you can get a bottle from a friend for free.
Thus, the price of water goes down because it is so abundant.
Knowledge should be as abundant as air.
If everyone took the
time to share knowledge with another person, not only would a
friendship begin or a romance start, but there would be no way for
people to restrict it and make money from it.
The only way
that can happen is if we adopt a nomadic existence, to some degree.
We must all become peddlers of useful and personal knowledge. But,
the only way we can become peddlers is if every house we encounter
has open doors for a visitor. The Christian community has a very
simple policy: never turn anybody away, and enjoy the fellowship
that another person brings. That is a very good policy. In order for
knowledge to be free and unrestricted, homes have to be open and
accessible. A traveler should be able to spend a night in any house
in a new village without having to pay rent. Each house should have
its own garden so that there is no need to buy food. Every house
should be self-sustaining.
There should also be no need for
extensive phone use because neighbors should be able to relate to
each other from their front porch. A traveler should not have to
make any arrangements when visiting a new town. He should be able to
merely pitch a tent and tell what he knows. There can even be
knowledge fairs in town squares where townspeople go simply to
exchange information.
If everyone knows something about
technology, telephone service, repairing a car, and baking a cake,
then there is no need to consult a private company for the
information. Your next door neighbor can be the best resource.
Knowledge can only be free if it’s as decentralized as
possible. When people are moving everywhere and sharing knowledge
freely, lodging in free houses with friendly neighbors, there is no
way for motels and hotels to charge high rates. There can also be no
business district in cities, because the citizens themselves are
sharing all relevant information. Rents are cheap because people
aren't trying to cram into a small living space. They are simply
traveling from town to town, visiting old friends and relatives
again and again.
This way, there is no real need to get a
job to pay for rent and buy food. Houses can be owned privately and
very quickly, or purchased by the community for the benefit of
travelers. Because there is no need to get a job, there is lots of
time left over for the acquisition of knowledge from peddlers and
sharing it with the community. The largest portion of any day should
be spent communicating with other people, face to face.
When
this is achieved, then people can start pursuing their passions and
understanding their role in their environments. The greatest source
of popular entertainment need not be a CD, a movie, or a television
show, but a conversation with your friends and family. With so many
people conversing and sharing knowledge easily, everyone would see
the nature and purpose of their lives, and feel freer, more
empowered to pursue that purpose.
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| Member Ratings |
| Member |
Date |
Overall |
Agree? |
Writing? |
Enjoyment? |
| marriah |
13 Jul
2001 |
Contribution edited.
Around 0% of the body was changed. |
| marriah |
13 Jul
2001 |
Contribution edited.
Around 0% of the body was changed. |
| tomsdattarmolly |
13 Jul
2001 |
Absolutely
sensational |
n/a |
Don't touch
it! |
Standing
Ovation |
| ...............
;0) |
| s-hollar |
14 Jul
2001 |
Absolutely
sensational |
Neutral |
Don't touch
it! |
Standing
Ovation |
| prissyh |
23 Aug
2001 |
Excellent |
Disagree |
Great
Style |
Sensational |
| anwer
sher |
06 Sep
2001 |
Absolutely
sensational |
n/a |
Don't touch
it! |
Standing
Ovation | |
| Knowledge
can only be free if it’s as decentralized as possible.
| |
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