Psychedelic Fascism

[luka]

So this

"do i not do something because i am told/expected/propagandised to do it? the mature thing is to be able to do something for one's good in spite of being instructed to do it - and that can grate."

I view in terms of, well, you could characterise it as a god or heaven that is making these demands, or just the body.

This is what this not very good poem in miracle salads is getting at. The anguish of this fait accompli


The price
obidience,dearest of all sacrifices.
no ownership of action save
that obedience is offered freely
though threat of Fall looms as
the menace behind the pact.

To adhere to the circle of that spotlight
moving as it moves, dancing within that white disc-
disavowing all the growling, fierce pleasures
of the dark.

You have to forsake, if you enter this contract, the standard conception of freedom and accept that you're going to be really quite constrained, because you have to track the light and the more successful you are at that the more catastrophic any fall becomes

Because the situation you are locked into is, this state of being you value is dependent on doing a b and c and avoiding d e and f.

Which, as an individual is a deal you either accept or don't. But interpersonally is where this can become something you want to impose as a universal standard. This is the path of light and virtue and everything else is degeneracy. This is where our Josef K ended up and it's the wellspring of psychedelic fascism.

 

[luka]

That's very roughly sketched out but then again you either know what I'm on about or you don't.

 

[craner]

Is this opposite or related to Acid Communism?

 

[luka]

it's the dark side of it! The evil twin!

 

[shiels]

Revenge of the ego

"Tripping certainly makes our model more malleable, very fluid while on psychedelics and the effects are longer lasting if you take it seriously and work at it. Epistemological lubricant. But the recalibration, the snapback can also be quite hardcore i think… the ego has its revenge . changes aren’t always totally positive. One of the key concepts is suggestibility. So, more suggestible to your own intentions, efforts at self understanding or healing or whatever. But also become more suggestible others, to any old thing. Which is why we have to be careful what we expose ourselves to in these states"

Fascism takes in periods of instability, complex change with a kind of gross simplification of the world that channels the populist appeal of conservative ideas using the technological advancements which caused the instability in the first place

 

[luka]

Fascism takes in periods of instability, complex change with a kind of gross simplification of the world that channels the populist appeal of conservative ideas using the technological advancements which caused the instability in the first place


What does this mean?

 

[luka]

Fascism doesn't spread itself through ideas. Ideas don't exist.

 

[shiels]

Fascism takes hold in periods of instability, complex change with a kind of gross simplification of the world that channels the populist appeal of conservative ideas using the technological advancements which caused the instability in the first place

 

[luka]

Aha!

 

[luka]

It makes sense too if you think it as a synchronisation of society towards war

 

[shiels]

@xenogoth new book talks about this

This is a view of psychedelia that still needs to be affirmed. It is its function, in this sense, rather than its form, that remains relevant to us today: the way it connotes the manifestation of what is deep within the mind, not simply on its surface. Capitalism is very good at this too, but it cannot be allowed to hold the monopoly on our desires. There are alternatives and they are waiting to be excavated. @constant escape

so are you saying the fascism bit comes when people cling to the light / the word / the vision too tightly. or when things become aestheticesd - message received - this is the way

 

[luka]

If I have to choose out of those two I choose the first one

 

[luka]

But I don't really understand the question tbh.

 

[versh]

Is this your manifesto?

 

[shiels]

I'm trying to understand what you mean by psychedelic fascism.

 

[shiels]

Total adherence to a set of aesthetic values, or rigid beliefs, service to a vision >>>> fascism

 

[Murphy]

There’s potential for tremendously positive change through psychedelics. I try and hold on to that factor with the palliative care options available publicly. Same with addiction and trauma. If you can envisage a situation where it’s integrated into the NHS, I don’t see anything inherently fascistic about that. It could be a game changer (the evidence base is there and long established). Why restrict to recreation? These compounds heal. Could an individual or group seize and coerce control through these compounds? Absolutely.

The jury is still out this side of the pond. Given we’re accumulating trauma from Covid deaths and overworked care teams by the thousand, why not integrate psychedelics and guides to heal so many damaged people? Complex area of inquiry, one that requires oversight which by its nature could be a corrupting influence.

 

[luka]

I'm bang into psychedelics, the only drugs I enjoy... just grappling with the fact that they are clearly no inoculation against reactionary ideas

 

[luka]

And talking about some of things I've noticed in 20 something years of regular excessive use

 

[sus]

are missionaries good or bad

I think the world is still undecided on this

If you wanna regurgitate the now-culturally-dominant paradigm of consent as morality, then missionaries are A-ok so long as conversion is voluntary, not okay insofar as conversion is forced

The problem with consent paradigms is there's no good way to draw a line between persuasion and coercion, and power infuses every act of mimesis