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Monday 4 November 2024

Blessed is the Machine


'The Machine,' they exclaimed, 'feeds us and clothes us and houses us; through it we speak to one another, through it we see one another, in it we have our being. The Machine is the friend of ideas and the enemy of superstition: the Machine is omnipotent, eternal; blessed is the Machine.'

E.M. Forster - The Machine Stops (1909)


5 comments:

Sam Vega said...

As some commentators have said, it hardly matters who wins the election tomorrow, as it is quite clear that America runs - the military are supplied and paid, the bins get emptied, kids go to school - without needing a functioning head of state.

The exception is when one of the candidates threatens to take on the machine/blob/vested interests which run the country and make wholesale reforms. That is one of the reasons why I would prefer Trump to win, and why there is a gleam of hope in Badenoch's election to run the Tories over here.

I's still prefer a mob with pitchforks and firebrands, but I'm mellowing a bit and becoming moderate as I age.

A K Haart said...

Sam - I'd prefer Trump to win too, being opposed to war he's safer for us and that will do for me. We appear to be seeing a divide between leaders who are explicit about how the Machine needs to be reformed and leaders who are not, the Trump/Harris divide brings that out very strongly.

DiscoveredJoys said...

With the current lot (greed, malice, stupidity) expect increased VAT on pitchforks and flaming torches with much increased regulation of their storage and use. Just in case.

Anonymous said...

I would suggest that, backed by Gates and Soros, the Americans are coming to the end of Obama's third term, and possibly the start of his fourth.I
Despite the machine breaking down, they must keep it going without change.
Penseivat

A K Haart said...

DJ - good point, maybe we could also see a large VAT increase on tar and feathers so expect potholes to remain unfilled.

Penseivat - I agree, Obama seems to be looking forward to a fourth term and maybe he'll get it and keep the machine grinding on.