Project Gutenberg by Douglas Rushkoff: A Review

Read through Project Guttenberg by Rushkoff This is the link to the free ebook:

Gutenberg
This is what I think of it.

Gutenberg refers to this guy who invented printing. But what has it got to do with Rushkoff's open source renaissance?

The story and myths of the ancient world has always been a way to manipulate the masses. The myth of the reformation and puritans are one good example. The masses are manipulated by stories of those in the hierarchy to cement the power. The myth of fundamentalism strengthens the grip of the religious leaders. Whoever controls the stories controls the people. It is the same idea when Gaiman says that gods cease to exist when their stories are forgotten. The power of the gods is their stories. Then it naturally means that whoever controls the media manipulated the people. In the past it is oral tradition, heroic poetry and also the singing of the bard. Not long before printing was invented and it means that the reach of the stories became even further.

And then we came to the 20th century. In this era we see the coming of the technopriests. The box becomes the medium to channel the stories. The technopriests controls the content.

This is related to the idea of memes. Joseph Goebbels, ministry of propaganda of the Nazis said that if something is repeated enough times it becomes a reality. That is the magick of memes. The memes are the ideas prevailing in the masses, and this it in turn dictated by those who controls the media. Up to this point the power is still a top down, hierarchical approach.

This of course is the work of the brotherhood. Rushkoff wasn’t too obvious about it but the allusion is there. The memes enabled the US to justify the war against Iraq in the illusive misguided nationalism, religious piety or fear. Than it forces people to take a stand. This is how the memes were used to create the problem-reaction-solution. The solution of course was human sacrifice in the millions, and unnecessary economic burden to billions, but untold profits to the few.

The birth of the internet enables interactivity. As such we can become our own priests as well. Open source then is not just a computer software term. He applies that to the law, and even to the stories that once directs the masses. If that is the case then the memes runs in a chaotic and anarchic way. His analogy of the slugs shows that beings can react with solidarity without a hierarchical (reptilian) control. Open source, as opposed to closed source goes from bottom up against the original top bottom intent.

To add to this, for example religious fundamentalism, or institutions, is essentially a closed loop system. This is derived first of all from 2 sources. First of all, the belief that justification is secured by adherence to a creed. This helps to make knowledge closed via the irrationality of fear. Anyone who is deemed to have strayed in his creeds is therefore in dangers of the fires of hell. It follows that the religious will have to invent hell which has nothing to do with a Judeo-Christian worldview. The fear of hell helps to define solid boundaries for the sheep to never stray. The second that it has to adhere to a closed source of 66 books termed the “canon”. The canon finalizes what is to be read or considered authoritative. Anything that is outside of this is to be questioned; therefore the religious fundamentalists do not anymore seek to learn further truth anymore. Then knowledge is forever static to the evangelicals.

Therefore it created an easily to be manipulated masses. In America the religious fundamentalists was easily manipulated to support the agenda of mass murder, either in the Middle East or South East Asia. In Germany, the religious leaders were the ones who endorsed the First World War. The masses from this group will never question social programming like the extreme respect on paper qualifications, or what exists in mainstream media.

What he proposes is that the top-bottom approach will not be the only way that the people on the top can benefit. He is really saying that the brotherhood is so obsessed with the exploitation of the resources of this world for its own benefits. Take for example the overdependence on oil, not because alternative energy is not available but because the brotherhood controls it. This, Rushkoff explains a closed source model. Same as currency flowing from a dubious federal reserves. He also, like Icke sees the evil of the currency being dictated by a bogeyman, that you have to pay back bogey money + interests that doesn't exists. Same as Tesla's free energy. He was one of the first to advocate open source technology, but he was of course opposed by JP Morgan, because this open source will undermine the domination of the top echelons. Rushkoff also proposes open source to currency (print your own money!). Then it is free from the speculation of the illuminati. He indeed shows a probable solution to the worlds problems.

It eventually means for humanity to create their own story, against the bloodthirsty and greedy attitude of the brotherhood. Let the economic system that is esoteric be revealed and reviewed through open source. But are we truly free to write the new chapters? Rushkoff asks us to declare that we are living in a just world already right now, instead of looking forward to it in an unjust world. The change must take place then from bottom up, the change in memes of the world.

What do I think of this? It seems that this guy is trying to beat the guys at their own games. Use the internet, media that has always been used for propaganda to have a reverse flow effect. Do people realize this? Do people know that the current economic system needs reform, a dog wagged by its tail? I don't know. But what he writes seems to be plausible.