Summary: As you can tell by the title, I am planning to do an ongoing series on the interaction of subconscious social currents that I call "The Invisible War" - or TIW for short. In the last thread, the choice of the "War"-metaphor has been critizised by some. I will elaborate on my choice.

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“War is what happens when language fails.”
― Margaret Atwood

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Body:

What is war?

Merriam-Webster: a struggle or competition between opposing forces or for a particular end

War is what happens when opposing claims can not be negotiated by any other means.

In a world where there is only so much to go around, Scarcity is the mother of conflict.

For most of mankinds history, Scarcity has been our steady companion. Most, if not all our choices throughout millenia have been informed by lack of resources. We fought over them. Hard.

Yet, somehow, we managed to beat back Scarcity herself, to the point where, today, a small percentage of the worlds population lives in overabundance. But Scarcity, our old nemesis, is still with us. Resting inside our lizard brains, gently reminding us of her existence whenever things start to go south.

Scarcity is a cruel mother. And with her, there comes War.

Re-Introduce Scarcity back into the lives of the people - and watch how it slowly peels back any layer of civilization. Be it black fridays or blackouts - once there is Scarcity, conflict and eventually War will follow.

Scarcity and War are baseline realities.

However, only a small percentage of people on the western hemisphere ever experience such Scarcity that War will be openly waged. They might experience loss, yes. Even that of their family, their lifes work and all their assets. But they will live - probably.

People that live in actual warzones or extreme poverty will have a different story to tell. For them, Scarcity and violence are only thinly veiled. Frontline soldiers have experienced base reality to the degree that they have trouble returning behind the thin veil of civilization and its muffled sensations.

It is a similar story at the top of the hierarchies.

Once you reach a certain level, there is more competition that there is room.

People will be out to get you. They may not want to kill you, but taking half of everything you have via divorce can be a tempting move. Undermining your position at work to get ahead is another one. Sinking your company in a sexual harassment lawsuit is one, as well.

In between, things are moderate. Moderate even to the point where you could call it a game. Any Scarcity they perceive is most likely in their heads. Their stakes are low and so are their wins. People will play little games, win a little, lose a little - but most of it is idle, subconscious bumbling.

But make no mistake: Where there is one body, there can not be another, no matter how limb their spines.

The same goes for frame.

Once you develope a strong enough frame, it will inevitably collide with others.

You will have to maneuver with care. Because colliding with someones frame will trigger deep, primal responses within them - mostly without them even realizing. They will begin to feel Scarcity and there is nothing they can do about it. It will drive them to destructive behavioural patterns even they can not fully explain.

Someone who feels Scarcity will always be driven towards descructive behaviour.

Some peoples biographies have made them internalize Scarcity to the degree that, even if their mood slips just a little, she is back at the forefront, calling the shots.

Even those people do not attack you directly - something inside them tells them to take little jabs at you, to find a gap in your armor. To say one thing and do another. To undermine you. To withhold information. To smear your reputation. To AMOG you. To cheat on you.

Are you ready for that?