The Seduction of the Knowledge-Based Society

The most promising trend in geopolitics is the transition from hydrocarbon-based economies to knowledge-based societies. Leadership for that change is emerging from Arab nations.

The appeal of the Knowledge Society is apparent. Who could object to nations preparing their citizens for the 21st century? Yet unless knowledge is changed, the result could worsen an already dangerous situation.

The sharing of values and knowledge has long been the best way to bridge cultures and promote peace. That strategy is now essential to counter the success of those promoting The Clash of Civilizations.

Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are breaking new ground with education models that build on state-of-the-art information and communication technologies.

This is the inevitable path for the Middle East and North Africa. Yet despite the best of intentions, if knowledge itself is not changed, the impact on Arab societies could aggravate trends that undermine progress.

Just consider the costs when knowledge is corrupted….

How Zionists Corrupt Knowledge

Those who induced the U.S. to war in the Middle East deployed knowledge like a weapon. With lengthy pre-staging, a narrative emerged that made it appear plausible — even desirable — to invade Iraq in response to the provocation of 911.

In retrospect, we now know that the knowledge on which the U.S. relied was false. All of it.

Iraqi WMD. Iraqi ties to Al Qaeda. Iraqi meetings in Prague with Al Qaeda. Iraqi yellow cake uranium from Niger. Iraqi mobile biological laboratories. All false, all traceable to pro-Israelis and all portrayed as true by media outlets dominated by pro-Israelis.

The Knowledge Society holds great potential to connect the Arab world globally. And to build with the West cross-border understanding and empathy. That is the Knowledge Society at its best. At its worse, knowledge can be exploited to manipulate behavior.

The ongoing manipulation of thought and emotion in the U.S. typifies the danger. When Arab nations grasp the common source of the false knowledge that brought war to the region, both the perils and the promise of the Knowledge Society will become apparent.

Yet even the risk of being seduced to war understates the threat. In the modern era, psychological operations (“psy-ops”) are routinely deployed to create consensus opinions and generally accepted truths — akin to the truth of Iraqi WMD.

Mindset Manipulation

The modern-day battlefield is the shared field of consciousness. Where else could consensus opinions reside? Or generally accepted truths. There too are found “field-based” phenomena such as credibility and celebrity that are also deployed to exploit thought and emotion.

When waging field-based warfare, the power of association ranks near the top as effective weaponry. For example, with global public opinion the target, Zionists arranged for U.N. testimony in February 2003 by Secretary of State Colin Powell who vouched for intelligence showing that Iraq had mobile biological weapons laboratories.

When the U.N. Security Council and a global television audience watched the testimony of this former four-star general, what they saw was his reputation for honesty. By the power of association, his credibility “bled over” to grant legitimacy to phony intelligence.

General Powell was only a celebrity prop in an elaborately staged play meant to enhance the plausibility of a global war on terrorism. That war began six weeks later.

Where other than in plain sight could such duplicity succeed? You can be watching field-based warfare and still not see it.

Even now, Powell may not yet grasp how two field-based properties (credibility and celebrity) were key to the psy-ops that seduced the U.S. to war for an Israeli agenda.

Freedom from Deceit

Mental and emotional exploitation lie at the heart of how knowledge is corrupted to catalyze conflicts, manipulate behavior and influence affairs from afar.

With a solid grasp of the methodology of deceit, the Knowledge Society can expose and, by design, displace those complicit in this cunning form of combat.

In preparing for the 21st Century, Arab nations have an opportunity to free their citizens from the exploitation of those who for centuries have abused knowledge for their selfish ends.

Much of that abuse now proceeds through the unfettered freedom allowed finance. Educated over decades in a “consensus” mindset, lawmakers worldwide now believe in financial freedom as a proxy for personal freedom — regardless of the real-world results.

For the Knowledge Society to realize its potential, modern-day information and communication technologies must make these various forms of duplicity apparent and the perpetrators transparent.

Only with widespread knowledge of how facts can be displaced with false beliefs can the Knowledge Society be protected from such treachery.

Jeff Gates is author of Guilt By Association, Democracy at Risk, and The Ownership Solution. Read other articles by Jeff, or visit Jeff's website.

19 comments on this article so far ...

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  1. kanomi said on January 8th, 2011 at 8:47am #

    Sorry, but no way do loathsome oligarchies, kingdoms, and dictatorships which suppress women, crush dissent, persecute homosexuals, torture prisoners, and are themselves subservient to their Western corporate-state partners get some kind of free pass, just because they themselves are not Zionists.

    Look up the human rights records of Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Look up military basing. US tax dollars are propping up these corrupt, abusive regimes. The author might as well have included Saudi Arabia on his list, it and Kuwait are the only ones missing from this rogue’s gallery of reactionary Arab thuggeries.

  2. Peacemaker said on January 8th, 2011 at 10:27am #

    I would have to agree with the last comment. Ignorance and war which begets corruption and the urge to flock as flack, must be defeated.

  3. Don Hawkins said on January 8th, 2011 at 10:32am #

    Heck go deep into the jungle in a helicopter with flashing light’s and after the people stopped shooting arrow’s maybe pass out to everyone I-phones no that would never work stock options, health care, teach them about job’s and who is the boss how a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush no they already know that one.

  4. Keith said on January 8th, 2011 at 2:42pm #

    This is one of the most incoherent and ridiculous things that Jeff Gates has written. The Middle East countries he mentions have well-earned reputations for repression and human rights violations, not educational excellence. I don’t know what their literacy rates are, but I doubt Gates does either. He offers no examples to give even so much as a hint as to what he is talking about. The whole topic seems little more than an excuse to rant about Zionist game-theory based psy-ops, an obsession of his, as if Zionist machinations are the primary cause of militarism and warfare. Empire? What empire? Imperial geo-strategy? What imperial geo-strategy? As if the US empire and Israel are not synergistically intertwined. As for Collin Powell’s “reputation for integrity,” he was a known liar when he helped cover-up the My Lai massacre and related atrocities, and his UN dishonesty but a continuation of his subordinating truth to achieve objectives, a common characteristic of power seekers.

  5. hayate said on January 8th, 2011 at 3:53pm #

    Ever notice how Jewish zionists cant stand having Arabs or Muslims portrayed as having doing something positive.

  6. Keith said on January 8th, 2011 at 4:34pm #

    @ hayate
    Arab culture has contributed a lot to civilization, however, the Arabs have fallen on hard times as a direct consequence of Western Imperialism. First Britain then the US has exploited the Middle East for its energy resources, actively suppressing development of these societies. The dictatorships mentioned in the article are supported by the US, and likely would not remain in power were it not for that support. Much of the negative aspects of the region are a direct consequence of US involvement and geo-strategy. Israel is a significant component of imperial intervention, providing some benefit to empire even as it pursues its own agenda, making a bad situation worse. I am opposed to the US empire, political Zionism, and to Israel as a Jewish state. I would like to see Israel become a state of all of its citizens and the US empire eliminated. You, however, seem to have a very narrow focus, seeing a Jewish/Zionist conspiracy everywhere you look. On the other hand, perhaps you are simply more familiar than I with the situation whereby “Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are breaking new ground with education models that build on state-of-the-art information and communication technologies.” If so, please avail us of your expertise.

  7. 3bancan said on January 8th, 2011 at 4:38pm #

    Keith said on January 8th, 2011 at 4:34pm #
    “Israel is a significant component of imperial intervention, providing some benefit to empire”
    Who the hell still buys this stuff???…

  8. bozh said on January 8th, 2011 at 5:21pm #

    another of my post erased. beats me why such diktatorial behoavior! by whom?
    ok, if i do not get the promise that my posts wld not be erased, i am outta here.
    i got other tnx sites to.
    this site used be one of the worst for personal attacks. however, even now, some people engage too much in personal attacks.
    as i have said truthdig had not yet deleted even one of my posts> go figure! hoe dare u censor people! tnx

  9. hayate said on January 8th, 2011 at 5:33pm #

    Keith said on January 8th, 2011 at 4:34pm

    The point I was making that whenever there is something about Arabs or Muslims doing something positive, or leading in some field or endevour, one sees the usual negative hasbara about them. One sees a lot of disbelief Arabs or Muslims could do it. Much of it in the tone:

    Likewise, one sees a lot of equating the people with their guvs and if the guvs are corrupt, then that ball and chain is applied to the people, as well. As in:

    “Arabs how corrupt puppets for guvs, how could they possibly do something positive.”

    Then there is the supremacist attitude. The one who think Arabs and Muslims are inferior people who could not possibly do something better than the “superior” peoples. That these people should be enlightened and brought into the 21st century by the “superior” “more modern” cultures.

    One can see such attitudes at work if one compares reactions of Arab innovation with that of the reactions to news of other people inovating something. There is immediate disbelief Arabs could do this, but when others do it, there is more acceptance. You’ll see it from rightwingers, open bigots and nationalists, as in:

    “How could “x” do better than us”

    Type crap. But leftists and progressives will usually applaud such news about people innovating in other cultures/countries, not try and deny it could happen and demand “proof”.

    You kieth, practiced all of the above in your posts.

    If this article had been about people in Latin America coming up with a new innovative style of exchanging knowledge, would one see the level of disbelief like is on this thread? If this article was about some Latin American accomplishment, would you be here posting with such an attitude, demanding absolute proof, keith? No you, wouldn’t. You wouldn’t even have commented.

    No. One would see an open minded interest in learning more of what the innovation was. This is because Latin America is not considered an Arab or Muslim country.

    This kind of hostility to Arabs/Muslims is a form of bigotry that has been successfully imposed on the west by Jewish zionist propaganda. For decades, Jewish zionists have been inundating all sources of communication 24/7 with hate and bigotry towards Arabs/Muslims. It’s gotten to the point where the majority of westerners have internalised this bigotry, most without realising it is bigotry. Among the right, the bigotry is obvious and one can see a continuation of other bigotries the right practices. Among progressives, it’s more insipid and subtle. The bigotry is more subconscious. You can see praise for past Muslim accomplishments side by side with disbelief that they would accomplish something important now, as in your post, keith.

  10. hayate said on January 8th, 2011 at 5:38pm #

    Correction:

    “One sees a lot of disbelief Arabs or Muslims could do it. Much of it in the tone:”

    Should have been:

    One sees a lot of disbelief Arabs or Muslims could do it. Much of it implied in the tone:

    “They’re backward Arabs, how could they do something that isn’t ordained by the mullahs?”

  11. Keith said on January 8th, 2011 at 7:51pm #

    @ hayate
    When it comes to building straw men, you’re the champ! My comments had nothing to do with the Arab people, either their past accomplishments or their current ability to persevere under difficult circumstances. Rather, I was critiquing the article by Jeff Gates titled “The Seduction of the Knowledge-Based Society,” in which he asserts that “Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are breaking new ground with education models that build on state-of-the-art information and communication technologies.” He provides no detail whatsoever of these innovative educational models, rather, he proceeds to rant about Zionists corrupting knowledge, mindset manipulation, Collin Powell, etc. In short, the article was rambling and incoherent, and had nothing of substance to do with a knowledge-based society. In my initial response to you, I invited you to enlighten us on these new ground breaking educational opportunities in Bahrain, Egypt, etc, either governmental or citizen initiatives so that we might be made aware of this new and inspiring development. Of course you didn’t, preferring to impugn my motives. Hey, the opportunity to educate me is still there. And while you are at it, I would be most interested in your opinion of the article. Seriously. You too, 3bancan.

  12. hayate said on January 8th, 2011 at 8:02pm #

    Keith said on January 8th, 2011 at 7:51pm

    I rest my case.

  13. hayate said on January 9th, 2011 at 11:44am #

    This well written article describes the Muslim hate campaign the zionists are generating in the usa:

    Racist Rage:
    Islamophobia, the Tea Party, and Endless War
    by Rami El-Amine

    06.01.11

    [http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/elamine060111.html]

  14. JoeJ said on January 9th, 2011 at 3:57pm #

    I have never been to the Middle East – but from afar, what I see of the Sunni Arab culture – is a combination of cruelty and greed from the top and cowardness from the bottom.

    The Sunni Arab can never overthrow its leadership. There is something lacking in their character.

    Of course Zionist Israel is going the same way – it only gets crueler everyday – “the good Jew” in Israel is absolutely toothless, and is now being intimidated with the word “traitor.”

  15. 3bancan said on January 9th, 2011 at 4:28pm #

    Keith, JoeJ…
    Who is coming next?…

  16. catguy00 said on January 9th, 2011 at 5:40pm #

    Hi Keith,

    Phrases such as “American/Western Imperialism” are frowned on here.
    Only Zionism is allowed.

  17. hayate said on January 9th, 2011 at 6:17pm #

    3bancan

    “Keith, JoeJ…
    Who is coming next?… ”

    There’s your answer. 😀

  18. 3bancan said on January 9th, 2011 at 6:27pm #

    hayate said on January 9th, 2011 at 6:17pm

    I was sure he was to come here. Only, I expected from him some couterpart to his “The Norks have next to nothing”…

  19. Don Hawkins said on January 10th, 2011 at 6:45pm #

    Rivers in many parts of Germany have burst their banks, flooding several cities, because of melting winter snow.

    In the west, the Rhine has overflowed in Bonn and Cologne and levels are set to peak in Koblenz where it meets the River Mosel.

    Firefighters are searching for a man whose car was found abandoned in the central state of Thuringia beside the swollen River Unstrut.

    The body of a kayaker was pulled from the River Enz in the south.

    Experts are blaming the high river levels on the record amounts of snow that fell in December and the sharp rise in temperatures that has brought about a fast thaw. BBC

    SYDNEY, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) — Eight people were killed with over 70 others missing, as flash floods swept across southeastern Queensland State of Australia, local police said on Tuesday.

    Queensland police deputy commissioner Ian Stewart said 72 people were missing in the areas like Lockyer Valley, west of Brisbane, which was trapped by the massive flooding. Dozens are stranded, waiting for help. Xinhua)

    It look’s like 2011 will be another year of climate crisis and is it to late to slow no not just yet still time with total focus and very hard choices but boring it would not be. Sharp rise in temperatures that has brought about a fast thaw and here in the States in a few month’s let’s see.