Could Puccini’s opera Tosca (based on Sardou’s dramatic play La Tosca) be the prolegomenon of the debt limit debacle? There are plenty of twists in both the play and the libretto, and Puccini is a master of dramatizing those twists. How in the world could a reasonable person/institution approve the spending, and when the time comes to demonstrate ethos and integrity the person/institution refuses to honor the promise, which is nothing less than a surrender of logic and a subversion of fundamental truths?
I had a dream, where in an open fire chat Parmenides was teaching us about that single unchanging reality called Truth which is always at a state of equilibrium. “What is real, is uncreated and ungenerated since it cannot be derived from the non-being,” Parmenides said. “It will never perish, as it cannot pass into non-being. It is indivisible and homogeneous. Senses give us an illusion of plurality, but universal truths can only be found through reason.”
Empedocles jumped into that conversation and while accepting Parmenides’ assertion that real, true being is permanent and everlasting, he also suggested that “we can accept change in the sense that the rearrangement of eternally everlasting elements provide a plurality which, in turn, needs to be managed by compromising opposites, such as Love and Strife, attraction and repulsion.”
At that point, Empedocles’ teachings were complemented by Anaxagoras who taught us that the elements that make up reality are governed not necessarily by opposites but by a single nous and its mindful reasoning.
As the pre-Socratic philosophers were chatting and debating, Democritus showed up with the following graph, and a simple question: “What do you think of this graph gentlemen? Is a potential default a reality or an illusion? Do you recall my teaching of an unchanging reality – as Parmenides taught us all – but which is also made up of a huge number of atoms whose splitting could have catastrophic consequences?”
In the midst of the fights between Julius Caesar and Pompey that resulted in the devolutionary state of civil war, some were fighting for Caesar and others for Pompey, but the only real question was: “Who is fighting for the republic?”
The inability to reach a compromise in the theater of the absurd necessitates the splitting of the atom in the sense of using unorthodox methods (like Caesar did), to save and preserve the reality of a superpower that does not desire humiliation and catastrophic consequences. The situation is already dire as the following graph shows: the price of the debt is too high if growth is desirable.
So, what could happen if a default takes place? First of all, let’s distinguish between a default of just a few days – during which a compromise emerges and is found – and a default where brainless lawmakers repudiate debt. Having said that, it should be noted that even in the short-term case scenario, some of the very negative effects (as discussed below) could occur. Let us list then, some of those catastrophic consequences, beyond the headlines of global financial crisis, Armageddon, and crash. The reality is that the existing financial channels are such through which panics and losses will transmit very fast, resulting in a possible nightmare scenario.
As the federal government tries to prioritize payments (cutting off vendors’ payments as the obvious first step), a Parmenidean sense of panic will emerge;
Empedoclean opposite forces will continue fighting in the theater of the absurd, where Anaxagoras’ nous is lost somewhere in space;
All assets around the globe (Treasuries, equities, real estate, etc.) lose ground and their valuations decline;
Interest rates increase substantially;
Layoffs accelerate, consumer and business spending decline, while confidence evaporates;
The dollar loses ground against other foreign currencies;
Geopolitical threats exacerbate;
As balance sheets deteriorate, companies cannot meet their obligations and bankruptcies start rolling in;
As panic spreads, clearinghouses shut down, creating market chaos.
In Puccini’s Tosca, vested interests of brainless individuals who want everything to go their own way (in their ignorance they have no clue of reality, so they are led by what Parmenides called illusionary opinions) do not only undermine stability but through their lies and deception kill and destroy what is noble and sacred.
The Debt Limit Debacle, the Surrender of Reason, the Pre-Socratics, and Puccini’s Tosca: Canceling the Noise, Not by Bread Alone, Part XXIV
Author : John E. Charalambakis
Date : May 22, 2023
Could Puccini’s opera Tosca (based on Sardou’s dramatic play La Tosca) be the prolegomenon of the debt limit debacle? There are plenty of twists in both the play and the libretto, and Puccini is a master of dramatizing those twists. How in the world could a reasonable person/institution approve the spending, and when the time comes to demonstrate ethos and integrity the person/institution refuses to honor the promise, which is nothing less than a surrender of logic and a subversion of fundamental truths?
I had a dream, where in an open fire chat Parmenides was teaching us about that single unchanging reality called Truth which is always at a state of equilibrium. “What is real, is uncreated and ungenerated since it cannot be derived from the non-being,” Parmenides said. “It will never perish, as it cannot pass into non-being. It is indivisible and homogeneous. Senses give us an illusion of plurality, but universal truths can only be found through reason.”
Empedocles jumped into that conversation and while accepting Parmenides’ assertion that real, true being is permanent and everlasting, he also suggested that “we can accept change in the sense that the rearrangement of eternally everlasting elements provide a plurality which, in turn, needs to be managed by compromising opposites, such as Love and Strife, attraction and repulsion.”
At that point, Empedocles’ teachings were complemented by Anaxagoras who taught us that the elements that make up reality are governed not necessarily by opposites but by a single nous and its mindful reasoning.
As the pre-Socratic philosophers were chatting and debating, Democritus showed up with the following graph, and a simple question: “What do you think of this graph gentlemen? Is a potential default a reality or an illusion? Do you recall my teaching of an unchanging reality – as Parmenides taught us all – but which is also made up of a huge number of atoms whose splitting could have catastrophic consequences?”
In the midst of the fights between Julius Caesar and Pompey that resulted in the devolutionary state of civil war, some were fighting for Caesar and others for Pompey, but the only real question was: “Who is fighting for the republic?”
The inability to reach a compromise in the theater of the absurd necessitates the splitting of the atom in the sense of using unorthodox methods (like Caesar did), to save and preserve the reality of a superpower that does not desire humiliation and catastrophic consequences. The situation is already dire as the following graph shows: the price of the debt is too high if growth is desirable.
So, what could happen if a default takes place? First of all, let’s distinguish between a default of just a few days – during which a compromise emerges and is found – and a default where brainless lawmakers repudiate debt. Having said that, it should be noted that even in the short-term case scenario, some of the very negative effects (as discussed below) could occur. Let us list then, some of those catastrophic consequences, beyond the headlines of global financial crisis, Armageddon, and crash. The reality is that the existing financial channels are such through which panics and losses will transmit very fast, resulting in a possible nightmare scenario.
In Puccini’s Tosca, vested interests of brainless individuals who want everything to go their own way (in their ignorance they have no clue of reality, so they are led by what Parmenides called illusionary opinions) do not only undermine stability but through their lies and deception kill and destroy what is noble and sacred.
“Questo e luogo di lagrime! Badate!
Beware: this is a place of tears”
Giacomo Puccini, Tosca