The Matrix (1999) Series: Matrix Brain and Anarchocapitalists

Last updated: June 30th 2023

(Excerpted from my forthcoming The Matrix (1999) analysis.)

Matrix Brain #

Matrix Brain is one of the dumbest mindsets to ever infect modern society.

You've heard about "Woke" and "Wokeness."

Well, in order to be Woke, obviously you must think other people must be Asleep. And it is the actual, unironic, acceptance of that dichotomous premise, that gives you what I call Matrix Brain.

The dichotomy #

It's the most tribal simpleton worldview ever. But The Matrix (1999) somehow managed to disguise it as Deep and Profound. It says that:

• Humans are neatly divided in two types.
  • Those who are Asleep. ("Blue pill.")
  • Those who are Awake. ("Red pill.")
  • (Ironic binaryness considering the "non-binary"ness of the writers.)
• Team Asleep: The brain-dead "cog in the machine" types. They don't realize how evil and fake The System is.
• Team Awake: The ones who have been woken up by some savior, who gave them the "red pill."

Unironically "Us vs. Them" #

To quote Morpheus:

"If you're not one of us. You're one of them."

How non-binary. How nuanced.

Why is it bad? #

It's glorified angry child "You don't understand anything, mom!" philosophy.

You're viewing those who disagree with you, as not just wrong, but literally asleep. That's beneath wrong. It's beneath ignorant. Beneath fool, even. It's really just euphemism for brain-dead zombie.

Ultimately, you're just giving yourself an excuse to dehumanize anyone who disagrees with you. (If you consider yourself on the Awake/Woke side, that is.)

This is why the fucsia-haired Social Justice Warrior soy is so insufferably condescending to you. He thinks you're "asleep." You won't see "The Real" until he, and his friends, "educate" you, ie. "red pill" you.

Sorry, fellow "right-winger" #

I'm well aware that since 2012 or so, people (I think the Moldbug guy? and some black ex-boxer guy whose name I can't recall either. Remind me to edit those in later.) on the Right started to call themselves red-pilled. And listen, I get it, by the Trump-era, all the stupid leftist/progressive shit became a sort of Official Religion, and you decided to adopt Matrix Brain and call yourself the red-pilled one.

But I still think it's an idiotic mentality, an idiotic dichotomy, and considering your opponent to be "Oh my Gosh Literally Asleep" will inevitable make you sound like a condescending little pink-haired bitch, regardless of whether you're on the left, right, or center.

Sorry, fellow "ancaps" #

Check this quote from someone "clearly blue-pilled" from our anarchist point of view:

"The ... function ... of providing domestic stability in the form of law and order and the protection of property ... could be logically opposed only by an avowed anarchist. Since ... [law and order is] not [a] controversial function of government, ... [it does] not require a lengthy analysis in the effort to construct an economic case for the existence of a public sector for resource allocation purposes.]
–Bernard P. Herber, Modern Public Finance: The Study of Public Sector Economics (1975), p. 22.

What better example (for an "ancap") of a "blue-pilled" person, than someone basically saying that only crazy/goofy/utopian/etc. people "could be logically opposed" to government being in charge of law and order, right?

He's "Asleep" to the reality.

And the reality is that not only did law and order originate in the private sector, but in the past several decades citizens have become increasingly dissatisfied (to say the least) by public law and order, while simultaneously the growth of private sector provision of law and justice has been steadily increasing.

Still, no. Argue with the guy, prove him wrong, insult him even. But, for the love of Hoppe, don't actually consider Bernard to be "asleep."

Most importantly, don't consider yourself to be any more "awake" than him.

Otherwise, you will be possessed by the Blue-Haired Spirit of Woke and inevitably start acting like one of those insufferable condescending things.

Security is increasingly private #

"The more than 1 million contract security officers, and an equal number of guards estimated to work directly for U.S. corporations, dwarf the nearly 700,000 sworn law enforcement officers in the United States."
Amy Goldstein, article for The Washington Post, Jan 2 2007.

From my favorite book on this topic, here are some numbers for the private investigation and security sector:

In 1964, there were 1988 firms and 62,170 employees in the sector.

In 1981, 7126 firms and 331,294 employees.

In 2007, 25,249 firms and 788,766 employees.

Those are firms providing patrolling and guarding of residential buildings, neighborhoods and corporate headquarters, as well as security for airports, sports arenas, hospitals, colleges, banks, manufacturing plants, hotels, and retail stores, and state and municipal government buildings.

With employees ranging from the minimum-wage watchman, to the highly-trained specialists, bodyguards, and consultants.

Not to mention products and systems such as armored-car vehicles and alarm systems. And, of course:

"Guns. Lots of guns."
–Neo, The Matrix (1999)

Or the fact that the "CSI" forensics techies get their niche specialist education and tools from the private sector. Particularly in cyber security.

"There is emerging a new security person, highly trained, more highly educated and better able to satisfy the growing intricacies of the security profession."
–Collins et al., "Principles of Security and Crime Prevention."

Clearly, the idea that citizens need a "public" sector for security, crime investigation, or law and order at all is silly. And it's been getting sillier by the day.

Still, knowing this doesn't make you more awake. Expunge your Matrix Brain.

Alternative to Matrix Brain #

So how about this: Let's agree no one is fucking Asleep.

It's just that we have disagreements about shit and, most importantly, some of us have irreconcilably different core values. Some of us simply can't live peacefully with each other in the same community.

You haven't "plugged out" of any simulation. Literally or figuratively.

References↑ #

1. (Text/HTML) Defund the police @ Wikipedia
2. (Text/HTML) The Private Production of Defense @ Mises
3. (Text/HTML) The Private Arm of the Law Some Question the Granting of Police Power to Security Firms @ WashingtonPost
4. (Text/HTML) The Enterprise of Law: Justice Without the State 2nd Edition by Bruce L. Benson @ Amazon
5. (Text/HTML) Principles of Security and Crime Prevention @ Routledge