"When Belief In The System Dies"

“The topic of elites stimulated this train of thought: yes, there are elites in every human culture (and in the social apes as well). But unlike a troop of chimps ruled by an alpha male, today's elites cannot operate the vast complex structure of the the U.S. economy, government and society themselves. They need hundreds of thousands of well-educated, hard-working people to believe in the system of meritocracy, justice, opportunity, etc., people who will choose to invest their entire productive lives in sustaining the structure the elites influence/control.

In a way, a belief in the value, transparency, trust and reciprocity of the System is like a religious belief. The converts, the true believers, are the ones who work like crazy for the company, or the Force or the firm. And when the veil of illusion is tugged from their eyes, then the Believer does a reversal, and becomes a devout non-believer in the System. He or she drops out, moves to a lower position, or "retires" to some lower level of employment. One trigger of such destruction of belief in the worth of the System is the loss of a job or house- an event I unfortunately anticipate will become very common. "But don't these people have to work to support their lifestyles?" Yes they do, until they realise they can live on half the money they thought they needed as an absolute minimum.

Not that most people choose this- they find out via bankruptcy or being laid off, or by watching their buddies and friends getting laid off (or killed/wounded) around them. Their belief in the goodness and reciprocity of the System- that if you work hard and keep your nose clean, we're gonna take good care of you-fades and then dies.

Immigrants are by self-selection believers, and the rise from poverty to relative wealth they see around them offers visible proof that sacrificing one's productive life for the System is rewarding. But once you've reached the plateau of relative wealth, then the proposition becomes contingent on exactly what happens to you and your family. If your kids all get advanced degrees and they can't find a decent job in their chosen profession, then you start wondering. If you get laid off, despite your decades of selfless service, then you start wondering. If you get passed over in favor of some brown-noser, you start wondering. And then you realize you don't have to work 60 hours a week, or live in a big house. An apartment works just fine, and 40 hours a week is enough. Let somebody else step up and take all the heat and the guff and the never-catch-up endlessness of the work.

At that point-a point I anticipate will come to pass in the next 5-10 years- then the elites' machine grinds to a crawl. People don't have to throw their bodies on the gears of the machine- they just have to stop believing, stop taking that promotion, and stop wanting to trade their entire lives for a thin slice of more more more. If that day comes, then the social contract will have to be rewritten, or an entirely new set of elites will have to emerge with a new social contract which people are willing to believe and trust.”

- Charles Hugh Smith, http://www.oftwominds.com/blogmar08/belief-fades.html