Globalization

Speaking of YUGE shifts in the zeitgeist.

My awareness of things started from watching Chomsky speak on anti-globalization (as well as a range of other issues), which was big in the early 2000s. He was not the only one, though he was my main influence (there were others on the right, too). Anyone who was a part of that, whether liberal or conservative, I consider a friend and an ally. 

At the time, opponents of the status quo were slandered as kooks, conspiracy theorists, misfits, impractical idealists, and the rest of it. If you brought the idea of 'empire' or 'globalism', it pretty much guaranteed being treated with contempt-- I certainly did, and that's the reception I got. 

However, I think these terms and way of viewing the opposition / zeitgeist no longer really hold and have now become the opposite of what they were back then.

The idea of a conspiracy theorist is more of a relic, a leftover from an era when the elites could still rig things semi-well and where the vast majority of people still believed the propaganda, not really applicable to the current situation.

Conspiracy implied deceit, a deliberate cover-up, an attempt to fool the masses— except for a handful of lone individuals, naturally on the fringes, who could figure things out and sound the alarm. They might not even be believed, might be assassinated by the all-powerful gubmint, might be slandered and ridiculed, but they accepted those risks anyways. This figured into the mocking, where they were attacked as being loons / hicks.

That was then. What we have now is the opposite of a conspiracy: disastrous failures in every area, which are noticed by everyone, and are never fixed or even addressed. This permanently damages the credibility of the government, experts, and society, who have now ironically become the fringe / radicals / misfits on most issues. 

The idea and goal of propaganda has also shifted, in accordance with the general zeitgeist. Propaganda used to mean a deliberately fabricated fairy-tale (the equivalent of fast food, cheap and convenient), created in order to fool one's opponents or destroy their reputation, enhance the reputation of the elites, or draw attention from their bending / breaking the rules. It was active, offensive. Resisting propaganda was also something that indicated being against the grain, unique, and so on— like being a conspiracy theorist.

Now, however, after one neoliberal failure after another, even the propaganda makers and consumers have internalized the fact that nobody else believes them or will believe them ever again, which is why they've given up on convincing people. Propaganda these days is largely for the personal consumption of an incestuous and increasingly isolated in-group— a way of deluding themselves into thinking they're winning, or that their enemies feel as badly about themselves as they do, so they can keep going instead of giving in to depression. It's a numbing agent to insulate the people in charge from self-doubt and looming failure, not a weapon in their arsenal. 

This behavior will further compound the collapse of the system, since it is now led by a group living in a hermetically sealed echo-chamber, where all traces of truth, or criticism, or even feedback from reality, have been systematically removed. They are, like I said in an earlier comment, hurtling to their deaths.

Unfortunately for the rest of us, they seem intent on dragging everyone else with them too. 

Fortunately for the rest of us, and especially for the once outcast / impotent critics of globalization (on both the left and the right) this new situation has a silver lining. It means that those same positions which were once on the fringe are now gaining traction, possibly even becoming mainstream, while the consensus on immigration, wars, trade, becomes more and more irrelevant and hated by the masses with every failure. This is the reality that is staring us in the face: we are now on the way to becoming the majority position, the popular ones, and maybe even one day (too early to dream?) the ones making the decisions. 

The point is, what would have been a pipe dream in the early 2000s is now becoming more and more real.

I'd say the important thing in the short term is to start dropping the 'isolated rejected loner' pose, as well as the 'too hip and too cool for the mainstream' pose. Back when political failure and non-mainstream status was guaranteed, it was a way of saving some dignity / self-esteem. The movement also drew a large chunk of people who would have been on the fringes no matter what and were happy to feel self-righteous about something. Now that it's possible to win big, it's time to start spreading the good word— it'll only be received well-- and to start dropping those anti-normie / haughty aspects. Let the elites turn themselves into an impotent isolated group, there are tons of supporters to scoop up out there in the real world!