MJJG what is Jes Grew - 2 cognates? / long, might be boring

[Raphael Saltwood]

Shea and Wilson’s _Illuminatus!​_, besides (mis)quoting Ishmael Reed about secret societies, describes the SNAFU principle of communication only being possible between equals, so that hierarchy breeds miscommunication.

Coupled with another concept they detail in the trilogy (I haven’t seen it elsewhere, but they did a lot of borrowing,) that of “biogram vs logogram”
in which the biological person has nonverbal creative impulses that often conflict with trying to act out socially-imposed actions received through words, the characters and action in _Illuminatus!​_ grope towards a freedom like that of Jes Grew, which cuts across class lines, eliminating the SNAFU principle, and allowing people to act in accordance with their individual sensorium and physicality.

The 60s-70s AS Neill Summerhill “freedom will cure most anything” optimism animates Shea and Wilson’s vision, and they share with Ishmael Reed an iconoclasm against hierarchical structures and unreasonable strictures. (“The name of sin is restriction,” as Aleister Crowley wrote - or words to that effect)

Mr Reed, otoh, in MJ draws upon African and African-American traditions - and, for gosh sakes, with impressive credentials for doing so - but not exclusively. Like Shea and Wilson, he shows powerful reactionary forces trying to suppress the manifestation of his notion of freedom.

Shea and Wilson appear to have been moved and inspired by MJ and it shows.




Another cognate is in Neal Stephenson’s _Snow Crash_ where the paradigm of rationality is the 3-ring binder with written instructions, devolved from ancient Sumerian cuneiform tablets which he claims to be the equivalent instruction set, and also quite similar to computer programs. In _Snow Crash_, customs in a locality depend upon the instructions in the three ring binder its inhabitants use.

Within _Snow Crash_ the major consideration seems to be the content of the 3-ring binder. There will ineluctably be an instruction set, so -

perhaps because it was written after some well-publicized flaws appeared in the “freedom will cure most anything” paradigm -

utopia spontaneously arising isn’t on the table in Snow Crash​_, whether libertarian/technological/Thelemic like Shea-Wilson, or spiritual/dance/music/poetry oriented as Reed projects —- but his vision is compatible with the others and builds on the idea of various types of social control.