Thoughts on our ‘Confused World’.

In the Meditationes Sacrae (1597) by Sir Francais Bacon he says “knowledge itself is power”.

In our view of the world today we could look at that and agree that possession of knowledge, restrictions on knowledge, censorship, selective release, or interpretation play a major role in our political and personal authority.

Our modern mainstream media in their mimicry of this pattern with ‘Breaking News’ and ‘What We Know So Far’ are inclined to propaganda rather than journalism.

In the context of that period of history rather than our own it is possible if not probable that in a more cooperative age of men what he intended held a different meaning.

Progress emanates from knowledge, the transmission of knowledge and the sharing of knowledge.

That as I see it is or was the primary goal of the internet.

It has been the cornerstone of professional reputation. A means of influence in which we can place trust but see marginalised with confusion replacing clarity.

When we move away from the concept of, power to act, and the right of authority and control, especially total cooperation or enforced cooperation there is an area of collective cooperation.

Looking at the power to progress there is a question of influence and what part knowledge plays in that influence or the ability to influence and the reason to influence.

And of course the influence that is used in terms of financial reward and personal progress.

It is an essential part of democracy but throughout my entire political experience I have noticed increasingly it has become a subversive process rather than a reasoned process.

In our social climate there is an appeal to authority through the concept of knowledge, “We all know’.

The effect of this is a censorship on critical thinking, a call to obedience and the power to attack those who in a confused world apply some degree of critical thinking regardless of their qualification to do so or their expertise in any discipline.

For the man in the street that can translate to beliefs, a cause to fight for or radicalism and a cause to die for in obedience.

Knowledge in this respect can be weaponised beyond adhominem being a destructive process rather than a productive process.

Knowledge becomes essential beyond itself and fashions not only progress but the rate of progress (or not) and is an essential ingredient in the way that we relate to each other as individuals, families, communities, professionally or in an amateur setting and politically.

This determines not only our society but the strength and security of that social setting and in essence it’s future path … a pre-determined destiny … how we might treat each other in the future; possibly in a worse way than we do now.