I read a book by John Coleman called The Conspirator’s Hierarchy: The Committee of 300. I remember being fascinated by it at the time. Coleman claims to have been a British intelligence agent and tells all about the true rulers of the world–“the 300.” Many of the things discussed in the book had proven true between the time he wrote it (1992) and the time I read it (2013), but three radical predictions remained unfulfilled. Those, plus the fact that, not only did the book have no footnotes (normally a deal-breaker for me, except in the rare case that it’s first-hand information as this ex-spy is claiming to have), it had no chapter breaks! It read like you were mind-reading a lunatic! On top of that, Coleman’s current endeavors are a mixed bag, so I put the book aside, not expecting to revisit, but I did when I noticed that his last three predictions–the ones I thought discredited him–were coming true. They were:
Legalizing Drugs – Coleman suggested that the powers that be, the old powers, make a lot of money in the drug trade and benefit from a dumbed-down, animalized society and would want to legalize drugs. As a libertarian and an anti-drug-war proponent, I thought he was way off base, although recreational pot had been legalized in Colorado in 2012 (20 years after Coleman wrote this book). Since then, however, I have seen the movement spread and discovered the effort was led by none other than George Soros. The last straw, I thought, would be if the CIA no longer needed black ops funding they famously get from the illegal drug trade. Soon after, I began to notice the CIA being pushed to the background by the NSA and the NSA getting a blank check from Congress. Maybe Coleman was onto something.
All this, together with the obvious truth that the welfare state creates a moral hazard in a free society – that is, if drug use is legal–as it should be, but users are insulated from the full impact of the consequences of abuse (e.g., the inability to support oneself)–which they shouldn’t be, drug use will excel far beyond the natural limit. Fold into that the cronyistic nature of highly regulated industries as well as the perverse incentive of taxes in giving the government a stake in drug sales, and Coleman’s notion of legal drugs for subversive purposes doesn’t sound so crazy anymore! Government and corporations (from connected pot sellers insulated from the profit-crashing impact of free competition to government subsidized rehab centers) will benefit from the spread of recreational pot use, while the people will be dumbed-down and effectively disenfranchised just for starters.
Gentrified Porn – Coleman suggested that porn shows would go mainstream and that sophisticated rich people in evening wear would shower applause upon pornography as if it were art. I remember the moment when I was in a suite at the Grammys looking over the audience down below. Thousands of people from the highest echelons of the arts & entertainment industries, dripping in diamonds and haute couture, applauding wildly for Beyoncé doing a strip tease while her husband looked on from behind her on stage. (Had I been more up on pop culture I would have seen this coming in a video she had made shortly before.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G1E3llZtWM
And if that’s not enough for you, check out any highly acclaimed show on HBO–Westworld, for example, is basically about sex robots with cognitive dissonance, complete with entire scenes where orgies and rape are merely the backdrops.
Europeanizing the American Political System – Coleman suggested that party rule, majority rule and executive control of the purse strings were distinctions between the European and American systems that truly made the difference for the US. Having members of a party be free to vote as they choose and having the minority party have power through such devices as the filibuster were important parts of respecting the rights of all, not just the majority. Since I read the book, I’ve noticed filibusters being eliminated little by little. Also in the crosshairs, the electoral college contributes to states’ rights and provides a check on the popular majority as well. Most notable, however, were the occasions in Obama’s terms when no budget was passed and when earmarks (which allow Congress to control exactly how money is spent) were banned; and now, under Trump’s administration when the President is threatening cities, states and schools with withholding federal money if they don’t adhere to his demands. This not only gives the president an unAmerican power of the purse, but it allows an end-run around the Tenth Amendment which reserves unenumerated powers to the states.
These are some serious What to Watch Out Fors! I might have to read Coleman’s book again!
