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Show -••.*-. »-/-»-'¦" «fr .V* » « ^fc^ ;. HIV ARTICLES WOULD REVEAL THAT NO MATTER WHAT THE BUREAUCRATIC BRAIN BOMB BAN, BABY In addition to the bombardment from technological society, nuclear politics and overcrowding, the modern human faces the knowledge explosion. The store of datum (and the products of it) unearthed by the race is doubling and redoubling ever more rapidly. Experts tell us that the time will come when there are sizeable gaps in technology between neighbors in one suburb-the appliances in one home, purchased at the same time as those in another, will be many times more efficient and specialized-because of the rapid expansion of human knowledge. At present, the average man can just barely comprehend the function of his mechanical servants or follow the logic of someone outside his speciality; in the future the communication gap is going to be even greater-leaving the masses unable to understand why or what is happening. The current proliferation of bureaucratic institution could be an adaptation to the knowledge barrage. Certainly such structures are necessary to cope with it. THE TRIPLICATE RED TAPE MAGNA CHARTA! Envision this gigantic administrative structure, based in a society become impossibly complex, staffed by specialists who must have a regular, attention-dulling job refuge. In addition, overpopulation-induced competition makes sure the most desperate and single-minded persons are the hardest workers. Routine, do- it- through- channels-only admin is -trators, each specialized in one narrow subject; a slow, regular rise to the top-administrative ability consists of knowing the rules. There is small danger of personal tyranny-no dictators, kings-only the impersonal totalitarianism of bureaucracy. Specialized bureaus already form the major portion of gov-erment in most western countries. Elected office is a haven for mediocrity. It's only a matter of time before the entire apparatus is controlled by the Grey Men. Nationalism means less and less on a political level as governing mechanisms become more and more similar. 1971 looks out over a vista notably free of monarchical whim-such a thing being both too personal and too imaginative for a bureaucrat. SO WHAT'S HAPPENIN' CHARLIE DARWIN? We've graphed the beehive reaction to the forces colliding in our era, so let's look at the flip side of the coin. There is presently a social sport or mutation that lives with the modern day in a manner completely opposite that of the suburban antheap. Not referring to dropouts as such, because a Drop Out is a person who either refuses or is unable to cope with living at all, but to the Youth Culture. In order to assert identity in the midst of continual cerebral assault, one must be an extreme individualist, must think of himself in terms just as explosive as reality. PSYCHEDELIC drugs, with their imagination-increasing capabil ities, are one method for vivid self-assertion. Toleration for individuality is basic to Freakdom. Stimulants such as speed and depressants like alcohol are escape mechanisms, and the original inhabitants of Woodstock Nation are crowded by social casualties bent on destruction who have used the cover of tolerant Youth Society to flee reality. The open, anarchistic reaction to conforming modernity still exists, however, as an alternative to omnipresent social cogdom. |
