Thread by @MollyMcKew

Following trend that's been active in my Twitter feed -- Kremlin gray cardinal Surkov published essay today on "Crisis of Hypocrisy" /1

As always with Surkov, the language was agonizing. Moscow peeps called it "disappointing" -- but it shouldn't be dismissed /2

Some highlights:

"Distancing appears to be widespread in the Western political landscape. There is a growing distrust of everything mainstream... /3

... The familiar is perceived as fake and untrue. The unfamiliar brings hope. A normal person loses their popularity, and a freak gains it." /4

[so yeah. He did kinda call POTUS a freak] /5

"A society is durable if every social element speaks the common language— the language that is prone to lies. Lies to others and to self... /6

...The language of hypocrisy is a tool used in the culture industry and in political programming, as well as in day-to-day conversations and even silence." /7

"It must be wrong to say one thing, think another, do something different--but almost everyone lives like that. Hypocrisy is inherent to the rationalistic paradigm of Western civilization due to two factors... /8

... First, the very structure of the language is too linear, too formal to be able to reflect the so-called reality in full... Anything that may seem logical must be false to some extent." /9

[This is extra hilarious from Surkov, whose sentences are nonlinear agony, and who is proud of being master of lies] /10

Surkov goes on w/ Western languages being binary -- basically he is saying our language makes us easy to manipulate if you are a Russian speaker /11

This use of "faceted" mirrors what he said in "Without Sky" -- only this time we are the black/white cripples, & Russia is multifaceted /12

2nd factor: "Pretending to be someone we are not, concealing our true intentions are essential technics for biological survival... Humans inherited deception from wild ancestors.../13

...Every culture has two main types of heroes — the warrior and the smart fellow...[Enemies never scatter before those who are resourceful, use deception ... /14

... But they survive, flourish, and have epics written about them that are more exciting than battle epics] /15

Funny here. Surkov seems not to remember Odysseus returned home not as a king but a beggar. Oh well. /16

"A trickster, a rogue, a fraud, a gambler — these are the central characters of literature and historical records." 17

Something we should all remember:
"Foul play is a spy's virtue. Perfidy is licit in a race for power." /18

"Of course you want to disarm an opponent while keeping your arms. Competing influence groups demand ultimate/deliberately-unrealistic transparency, which stimulates innovation in the industry of deceit.../19

...The most honest ones dig themselves deeper into the dark web. The rest master the skill in plain sight.... /20

... The rage for transparency has elevated the quality of hypocrisy to the unprecedented heights."

Cc: #ParadisePapers
"We know how to use transparency against you"
Just saying. /21

"The social contract, written in a disappearing language of politics, is expiring.... Somebody read it carefully and shouted, 'We have all been fooled!'"/22

This is interesting: "The oath of a hypocrite sworn on the Bible or on Facebook will no longer convince anybody."
So interesting. /23

"Diverse social groups, devoid of a common language, isolate themselves to develop their own 'dialect of truth.'"

Psyops help, of course /24

"Will the Western world [use kind of tactics we used to weaken/dismantle the USSR to take the pressure off?] Or will the system overheat with revolution and big war? Nobody knows." /25

Here Surkov goes on about our "hypocrisy" being born from the "complexity" of our checks/balances to build a system without a Tsar/Caesar /26

No for real -- Surkov is saying democracy will crumble under the weight of the war against oligarchs, who are natural winners bc lies, deception, survival instinct /27

"It may be that tomorrow will bring a strong hand that will lead the clueless crowd out of 'all of the chaos and all of the lies.'... /28

...The Tsar of the West, the founder of Digital Dictatorship."

....

/29

Timing of tirade on hypocrisy/transparency is really interesting.

(See yesterday's thread on Paradise Papers)/30

But read this. This is what they believe. Everyone keeps asking: what's the goal, the way ahead? It's this. Because they believe we are the worst of our fiction, and fragile /31

Screw you, Surkov. Yes -- oligarchs and billionaires have created an age of impunity. But unlike your broken wreck of a nation -- we thrive in the fire, and reforge ourselves. /32

This should also be read for Russian audience, in context of elex. The message is clear. There's no way out. May as well keep on as is. /33

Here's the translation of the essay

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