The Treachery of Technofeudalism

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“Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards.”

― Aldous Huxley, Ends and Means

We cannot lose the Sword of Damocles and after November 5th we’ll know whether or not we have succumbed to this ultimate misfortune if Donald Trump is not elected.  

If you’re not familiar with the origin of the Sword of Damocles I’ll take a moment to explain the significance as it’s extremely valuable to you, your family, your friends, your neighbors, and every potential friend that you may ever meet. 

The famed Sword of Damocles is a moral parable that was made famous by the Roman philosopher Cicero in 45 B.C.. In his book Tusculan Disputations his tale centers on Dionysius II who happened to be a tyrannical king who ruled during the fourth and fifth centuries over the Sicilian city of Syracuse. 

Dionysius was a very rich and powerful man, however despite this fact he was a very unhappy individual. The fact of the matter was that because Dionysius was a tyrant he had racked up quite an enemy’s list of opposition which always occupied his thoughts and always kept him looking over his shoulder. 

Dionysius was so tormented by his fear of being assassinated that he slept in a bedchamber that was surrounded by a moat and he only allowed his own daughters to shave his beard with a razor as he didn’t trust anyone else to get that close to him.   

As Cicero tells the story the tyrant king’s dissatisfaction came to a head one day when a court flatterer named Damocles took it upon himself to shower the king with compliments and made remarks about how great and blissful the king’s life must be. 

However when Dionysius heard this he was annoyed and he posed a question by asking Damocles that if he believed his life was so great then “Do you wish to taste it yourself and make a trial of my good fortune?” 

After Damocles agreed to this trial Dionysius seated him on a golden couch and ordered a host of servants to wait on him. Damocles was spoiled and treated to the best cuts of meat and he was showered with the best perfumes and treated with the best ointments of the time. 

Damocles couldn’t believe his luck, but just as he was getting into the groove of enjoying himself by living the life of a king he noticed that Dionysius had hung a razor-sharp sword from the ceiling directly above his head. As if the presence of this sword wasn’t disturbing enough, what made it even worse is that it was only hanging by a thin single strand of horsehair.

After experiencing this new realization from then on the courtier was in fear of his life which made it impossible for him to enjoy the feasts and the ongoing luxury of having servants to wait on him hand and foot. After the agony of nervously glancing up at the blade on numerous occasions Damocles asked to be excused as he no longer wished to be as fortunate as he perceived the king to be. 

For Cicero this tale involving Dionysius and Damocles represented the idea that those in power always must labor under the .css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}