M.U.E.C.

A Possible Future

This is a consideration on what if we just take the present situation and make a straight line prediction extending out into a not too distant future.

Stay with me ...

In the current zeitgeist the keyword is #WINNING. Charlie Sheen went off the rails not long ago; and he distinguished himself by asserting that he was, well, "Winning".

The leader of the free world is all about that too. And, the debate among the pundits is all about if he is off the rails too.

If we abstract that concept to another level we see that "winning" is a product of the corporate-consumer culture. Who was it who said that "the business of America, is ... business"? Calvin Coolidge. Actually, that's a misquote. But, not that far off. Here's what he said verbatim: “After all, the chief business of the American people is business. They are profoundly concerned with producing, buying, selling, investing and prospering in the world. I am strongly of the opinion that the great majority of people will always find these the moving impulses of our life.”

So now we have a leadership who sees steering the Ship of State as primarily a business affair. And, by definition, best led by a businessman. [Alright, that's an outmoded gender-based usage, but it's nice once in a while to wax nostalgic for the pre-PC days.] And, as they will, the pundits are all up arguing on whether in fact the businessman in chief is really as successful as he claims.

I'm just now thinking that when you elect a builder his natural inclination is to build something. Like in, that Wall. Or, if you have a headache and you go to a neurosurgeion; he'll want to tap into that keppe of your's. It's what they do. 

But, perception is reality. No one ever got elected to the highest chair in the land expressing doubt, concern, and uncertainty. Which, I'd bet, is really what is going on under all the bravado and bluster; all alone sitting on the commode.

So, you may be wondering, what about that M.U.E.C.?

Monetized Unit of Economic Commodification 

I a world ruled by the values of the marketplace, that's what we are. Monitized units of economic commodification. Things. Things that produce. Things that consume. 

Things that have value based on their productivity. Never mind that there's no spiritual value in any of that. Just the value one has toward economic gain. 

I can see a possible future where the logic of it will be inescapable. When you or I no long contribute according to some generally accepted standard, and we represent a net loss on the societal books, doesn't it make sense to, ahem, cut the losses?

Maybe such a scenario might to us seem taboo. Well, what was taboo a few decades ago is now rather commonplace. Isn't it. Why not if Granny or Gramps is too feeble to carry on? In some Brave New World it would only be logical to write them off. Literally. 

There is a movie, Soilent Green. I speaks to just such a situation. If you don't know the flick, check it out. It may be a view into a possible future.

The funny man Stephen Colbert lives in my town. We sometimes rub shoulders shopping. I'm dying to ask him about when he had a guest on his show who was marketing a food product called "Soilent". Now, Colbert is a media savvy guy, if there ever was one. I wanna ask him how come he interviewed that enthusiastic fellow without any trace of irony or sarcasm. 

Spoiler Alert: Soilent Green ... is People!