The Tyranny of Harold Hill

The Hegelian Dialectic.

What is it?

It's an old term.
A cryptic reference with a definition like a rubic's cube.
Don't worry you can skip over this part. (I already know what it means and I still quit reading it half-way through.)

"Dialectic ....the Hegelian process of change in which a concept or its realization passes over into and is preserved and fulfilled by its opposite... development through the stages of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis in accordance with the laws of dialectical materialism ....any systematic reasoning, exposition, or argument that juxtaposes opposed or contradictory ideas and usually seeks to resolve their conflict .......the dialectical tension or opposition between two interacting forces or elements."

"Dialectical Materialism ... 1 : the Marxist theory that maintains the material basis of a reality constantly changing in a dialectical process and the priority of matter over mind."


So yeah, once again.

What is it?

Well the term may be older than most things you and I are familiar with and the definition is a mess, but the idea itself and it's practical applications are older than written history. It is THE ANSWER, to THE QUESTION. And that question is? Of course. How do I get everybody else to do what I want them to do? Let's be honest here, isn't that what we all really want? Of course it is. Believe it or not there's actually a formula for it. A better way to put it would be....

How to rule the world in 3 easy steps.

1. Find an unsuspecting populace.
2. Manufacture an urgent and pressing need or threat to said populace.
(and here's the tricky one)
3. Provide solution(s) for said problem(s) that requires said populace to take whatever action is desired by you in order to resolve said problem(s) previously created by you.

Simple right? Okay so say you own a cranberry farm and you want to increase sales. Easy. All you've got to do is inform everyone (for the good of the public safety you understand) that the dangerously high amount of minerals in their drinking water is causing a rash of kidney stones. (A very painful affliction by the way) You then kindly inform them (only as a public service you understand) that cranberry juice has been shown in many cases to help break up and even prevent the formation of kidney stones (which is true) and then faster than you can say yellow journalism you're cranberries are selling like crack.....berries. If for some reason this doesn't work and there are some skeptics out there Then secretly or even better "accidently" pump the drinking water full of minerals for a month and when slightly more people than usual wind up with kidney stones you point to the statistics and say "See, look at these statistics! Numbers don't lie. We tried to warn you but did you listen? Nooooo. You had better get down to your local grocer and pick up a can of juice right away before it's too late and this terrible affliction has struck you or someone you love." You are now a Cranberry Mogul and you are set for life. Now you can focus your attention and resources elsewhere. Like buying up stock in Brita water filters for example.

The most simple model of how it's done comes from the least likely of places. Musical Theater. If you've ever seen the musical "Music Man" then you know that it's a terrible show. You also know that the most well known song in the show is called "Trouble." This scene is all about how the main character Professor Harold Hill who's real name is Gregory (he's a fake and he doesn't know the territory) tricks a bunch of yokels into believing that the new pool hall in town is the root of all evil and is the first step onto a slippery slope down the road to degradation and the moral decay of their children. "Oh ya got trouble my friends. Right here in River City! With a capitol T and that rhymes with P and that stands for Pool!" The solution to this terrible terrible trouble is the formation of a boy's band, and you can't believe their luck but Professor Hill just so happens to be a band leader and he has plenty of instruments and uniforms for sale at reasonable prices. You see in Music Man Harold Hill uses fear and sensationalism as motivators to get the people of River City to do exactly what he wants. He knows exactly what he's doing and it works like a charm because he's done it in town after town after town. This is human nature. Fear is the greatest motivator in our lives. You may not realize it or not want to think of yourself as simple a creature as all that, but almost everything we do is an effort to avoid something that we don't want to happen. Don't believe me? Let's see a show of hands from all the people who just love getting up everyday and going to their job. Yeah, that's what I thought. So why don't you just quit? Because where would your money come from? What would your family think of you? Would my spouse leave me if I quit my job? What if I never find anything else? What if we lose the house? How will little Jimmy ever go to college???? You get the idea.
Once you understand this simple rule about human nature, and once you understand what it is that really frightens people, well now you've really got something.

Just wave your hands, sing your song and watch em dance.

That is the practical application of the Hegelian Dialectic.

We'll discuss real world examples of this in our culture and everyday life at another time.