Greeds converge to steal the prize
A theme of 'Contact Ascension'
In the quiet thaw of the post cold war there is a meritocracy slowly yielding to the open slather of enterprise; money is power.
It meets a rogue splinter of unfettered neo-feudalism; knowledge is power.
In Chapter 20 of “Contact Ascension” these two powers converge upon a prize that could tip the balance. One force is patiently waiting for the prize to fall into its hands, a guardian of the path. The other force will seek to divert the path using guile and coercion. Both forces meet at the prize which involves not simply technology but also the knowledge retained by an individual, James; a person who may potentially be easily led. The result is a distress call and a lockdown that looks like a stale mate with the pawn being the likely victim.
So what does this have to do with Spiral Dynamics?
This theme is suggestive of the conflict as memes of spiral dynamics clash. The Tier one 6th Green level meme of Chinese communism meets with the Tier two “Yellow” Flex Flow of a reinvented capitalism. But is this capitalism simply the old red “Power Gods” doing what it must to protect it’s power? The philosophies clash until the ascendance of the turquoise meme, the Eighth level, the Global view. In older days, when the memes clashed, revolutions like the French and American were fought, or impositions like the Spanish Inquisition were held.
We may not fight as many wars but are we really yet enlightened? What does the enlightened consciousness of eons of ‘transcending-and-embracing’ do? How do you embrace conflict?
Can you transcend it?