Fertilizer, diesel, and natural gas all have an impact on food. The impact first shows up in producer prices, then consumer prices. 
PPI Percent Change from Year Ago
- Finished Consumer: 2.1 percent
- Slaughter Cattle: 17.7 percent
- Slaughter Poultry: -5.6 percent
- Slaughter Hogs: 8.6 percent
- Unprocessed Food and Feed: 3.1 percent
- Processed Meat Poultry Fish: 6.4 percent
- Processed Meat: 8.4 percent
- Fresh and Dried Vegetables: 56.3 percent
- Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts: 19.5 percent
- Large Eggs: -81.0 percent (unshown because it blows the scale)
Three things are clear.
We are not talking enough about chicken, eggs, or the Dow.
How the Iran War Is Shaking Up Food Supply Chains
Bloomberg comments How the Iran War Is Shaking Up Food Supply Chains
The arid Persian Gulf is hardly the world’s breadbasket. Yet the conflict in the region is sending shockwaves through the global food industry — from growers to packaging firms and distributors — with major implications for food security and living standards.
The war has cut off important sources of energy and fertilizers that are key inputs in the production of grains, vegetables and meat. Farmers whose crop yields were already squeezed by bouts of extreme weather now face paying more for those crucial inputs and are likely to pass on the cost to consumers through higher prices.
Their other option is to cut back on fertilizer and other inputs, lowering yields and raising the risk of food shortages, especially in poorer countries that rely heavily on imports. The United Nations’ World Food Programme has warned that a prolonged conflict could lead to record levels of global hunger.
How is the war affecting fertilizer production?
The Gulf region has become a significant producer of nitrogen fertilizers in recent decades, and the Strait of Hormuz was handling about a third of the global trade before the war broke out. The Gulf is also a major supplier of sulfur, which is needed for production of other types of fertilizers. The conflict has severely disrupted exports from the region, sending prices soaring and farmers scrambling to secure enough of the products while they can. Soaring gas prices have put European production under strain.
There are signs that farmers have cut back on fertilizer purchases as a result. If the disruption persists, they are likely to lower their use of the products in the fall, leading to lower crop yields next year.
“This is not only a price shock. It could also become a production shock with a lag built in,” said Wesley Davis, an economist at Meridian Agribusiness Advisors.
How else is the Iran war disrupting the food industry?
There is no modern food production without energy. Diesel-powered tractors till the soil and a lot of fresh produce is grown in gas-heated glasshouses. Oil-based fuels power the ships, planes and trucks that transport food over long distances in today’s globalized economy.
Then there’s packaging. The Middle East region supplies about one-third of globally traded naphtha, used to produce plastic wrappings, according to Rabobank. Paper and cardboard production is also energy intensive. In Malaysia, a shortage of plastic resin used to make 2-liter milk bottles has left some grocery shelves bare. In Japan, a shortage of ink has led Japan’s biggest potato-chip maker to switch its packets to black and white. The country may be heading for a banana shortage, too, because supplies of ethylene used to ripen the fruit are running low.
What will it all mean for food prices in stores?
Before the Iran war broke out, food inflation around the world was generally expected to ease this year. Food commodity costs are still well below their peak of March 2022, but the impact of the war has started to feed through into official price gauges. Global food commodity costs climbed to a three-year high in April, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization said. It warned that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz could trigger a major global food price crisis within the next six to 12 months.
World Food Situation
The Food and Agricultural Organization reports Food Price Index extends upward trend amid higher vegetable oil, meat and cereal prices
- The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) averaged 130.7 points in April 2026, up 2.1 points (1.6 percent) from its revised March level, marking a third consecutive monthly increase, albeit at a lower rate than in the previous month. Price indices for vegetable oils, meat and cereals rose to varying degrees, offset by declines in sugar and dairy products. Compared to historical levels, the FFPI in April stood 2.5 points (2.0 percent) higher than a year ago but remained as much as 29.6 points (18.4 percent) below its peak in March 2022.
- The FAO Cereal Price Index averaged 111.3 points in April, up 0.9 points (0.8 percent) from March and 0.4 points (0.4 percent) from its level a year earlier. The monthly increase reflected higher prices across major cereals, except sorghum and barley. World wheat prices increased by 0.8 percent, reflecting upward pressure from drought in parts of the United States of America and a higher likelihood of below-average rainfall in Australia. The price increase was further supported by expectations of reduced wheat plantings in 2026, as farmers shift to less fertilizer‑intensive crops amid high fertilizer prices, driven by elevated energy costs and disruptions linked to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
- The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index averaged 193.9 points in April, up 10.9 points (5.9 percent) from March and reaching its highest level since July 2022. The continued increase was driven by higher prices of palm, soy, sunflower and rapeseed oils.
- he FAO Meat Price Index averaged 129.4 points in April, up 1.6 points (1.2 percent) from March and 7.8 points (6.4 percent) above its level a year earlier, reaching a new record high. The increase reflected higher prices across all meat categories, except ovine meat quotations, which remained broadly stable. Bovine meat prices rose to a new peak, underpinned by higher export quotations in Brazil amid limited supplies of slaughter-ready cattle, reflecting ongoing herd rebuilding.
- The FAO Dairy Price Index averaged 119.6 points in April, down 1.3 points (1.1 percent) from March, while remaining 32.1 points (21.2 percent) below its level a year earlier. The decline was mainly driven by lower international quotations for butter and cheese, which more than offset continued increases in the prices of skim milk powder (SMP), while whole milk powder (WMP) prices remained broadly stable.
- The FAO Sugar Price Index averaged 88.5 points in April, down 4.3 points (4.7 percent) from March and as much as 23.8 points (21.2 percent) from a year ago. The drop in April was mainly driven by expectations of ample global supplies in the current season, reinforced by improved production prospects in key Asian producing countries, notably China and Thailand. The onset of the new harvest in Brazil’s key southern growing regions under favourable weather conditions further contributed to the overall decline in international sugar prices.
PPI Food Prices
Four Key PPI Food Points
- Producer prices for food were stable or rising slowly ahead of the Covid pandemic.
- Prices skyrocketed in the pandemic but did not fall back to the previous trendline.
- Prices are now steeply rising again, on average, due to disruptions from a war that should never have been started.
- In addition, US cattle herd sizes are at extremely low levels contributing to the surge in beef prices.
Trump is boxed in on agriculture and the War in Iran.
On May 17, 2026, I noted Ground Beef Soars to $6.90 per Pound. Trump Has No Winning Actions
Trump is boxed in on agriculture and the War in Iran.
There is no grocery store price gouging. Prices at the store and prices you pay are rising lockstep with the Producer Price Index (PPI) for slaughter cows.
Trump is also investigating major meatpackers for collusion, but that’s nonsense as well. Ten meatpackers are not going to be more efficient than four.
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57% of consumers say high prices are eroding their personal finances.
May 28, 2026: PCE Inflation Spikes Again, Year-Over-Year Highest Since May 2023
Year-over-year PCE inflation jumped to 3.8 percent. The Fed wants 2.0 percent.
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Let’s do a fact check on the administration’s claim.
Trump was quoted: “Let them drink Beer.”
Heinz Natural catsup went from $1.68 for a 20 ounce container to $3.48 in the course of five and a half months, on Amazon’s websites (the increase at Walmart was comparable).
I know because I bought a lot of it in December. It turns out it was a great investment, but I’d just as soon it hadn’t been.
Processed foods are never a great investment.
companies are using it as an excuse the way the chip shortage was used as an excuse. mcdonalds prices have nothing to do with anything but enshittifcation. Same with kroger, ralphs, etc.
That is true. All companies are using excuses to raise prices and collide with each other. Oh the pandemic made me raise prices. Oh the war. Oh the drought.
None of our bases have been hit,either.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2l2yl7r8r2o
Lying is the new speaking.
Bessent, today
BESSENT: I believe the president’s remarks were taken out of context
HASSAN: No. He said, ‘I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody.’ That’s a direct quote
BESSENT: Groceries are going down
HASSAN: When was the last time you were in a grocery store?
And the point you wanted to make was?
Bessent is just another one of taco’s boot lickers who does what he is told to do and say. No backbone whatsoever. Sold his soul for a cheap price, similar to the rest of his “colleagues.”
Bessent is gay. That should explain the theatics he often displays. He lets his emotions get out of control.
But he is intelligent and is getting things done, though those things may not be what YOU want done.
Interesting things coming from Japan. 10 year yield at 2.648% and the yen just breached 160 for a dollar. That doesn’t seem sustainable. Are you planning an article about that? I know you mentioned in the past you were expecting a currency crisis, you just didn’t know where it would come from yet.
Blame the Trump tariff on imported aluminum and imported aluminum products.
Trump says a deal by this weekend…lol. The same day oil climbs back to the $100 range. Bond yields aren’t buying it.
Translation into English: the stock market had a sad today, so Trump is trying to jolly up stock prices while and and he cronies make their trades.
Anyway, judging from the ticker, the market today ain’t buying it.
We are entering the phase where trump can no longer jawbone the markets.
Whoever bought stocks because trump jawboned them?
Trump’s “Team Futures.”
Who believes what Trump says? He has said a deal is imminent for months….
Costco has the lowest profit margins while WalMart and others continue to increase prices even when they don’t have to. The whole thing is a grift. I go to Costco and Grocery Outlet and get the same stuff I use to from WalMart for 50% less.
Costco has low margins because they make most of their money on the memberships.
It still comes out cheaper for the consumer. Costco profit margins are like 4x lower than most others. That includes memberships.
From chatGPT:
—-
For fiscal year 2024, Costco Wholesale generated:
So membership fees accounted for:
About 1.9% of Costco’s revenue comes from membership fees.
What’s remarkable is that while membership fees are only ~2% of revenue, they contribute a much larger share of profit. In fiscal 2024, membership fees represented roughly 65.5% of Costco’s operating income, which is why investors pay such close attention to membership growth and renewal rates.
A simplified way to think about Costco’s business model:
just caught amazon charging 3x the price available on other sites for Asian spices.
Amazon doesn’t sell most products. Most products on Amazon are sold by 3rd parties that Amazon can fulfill (i.e stock and deliver sand take a percentage of sales). I often see incredibly high prices for some products and wonder what the game is. Are the sellers fools or are they up to something that I don’t understand?
You left out aluminum for cans – there is a worldwide shortage
Thank you, Mr. President, for such a great economy (even better than your first term) with an optimistic outlook given the masses are getting more purchasing power food and supply chain security are in great shape, prices are coming down just as promised during your campaign, and by the way you have ended 8 wars and only started one minor conflict that would end in 3 days. Good thing we have ended the conflict with I ran at least 8 times with a surrender deal so good only you could have negotiated it. You are correct Mr. President; I am tired of so much winning as my living standard is in peril.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Reminder: War has consequences, including economic and existential.
If the Iranian Regime agrees to give up the nuclear “dust” they hold, forgo future nuclear weapon development and open the Strait of Hormuz, we can all return to what passed for normalcy before, with oil and fertilizer made from oil flowing from the Arab countries through the Strait and the Regime continuing to press their thumbs of oppression unpin their own people.
Easy peasy.
Or Iran can continue to do nothing and we can watch the world economy collapse and guess who will get 100% of the blame. Take a wild guess.
https://www.news18.com/explainers/everybody-hates-you-now-why-trump-is-suddenly-clashing-with-netanyahu-over-middle-east-ws-l-10125220.html
“Everybody Hates You Now!” Trump on referring to Israel.
[Shrug]. Let’s see what happens. I say keep squeezing Iran until the “pus” shoots out.
Yes, let’s see what happens. It’ll likely be a repeat of what the Egyptians, Romans, Germans and whoever is next….world?…did in the past.
Sad that it always comes to this….really sad no one can learn from the past.
A shame that Iran won’t learn that it should not be trying to build nuclear weapons. Iraq from 2002 should provide the lesson as to what happens.
http://www.ynetnews.com/jewish-world/article/ryw2ygkhzg
Iran never enriched past reactor grade until Israel attacked. Even after Trump stupidly dropped JCPOA, they still had IAEA monitors. This is *entirely* on Trump (and Bibi).
Another country that the United States attacked on the basis of lies.
North Korea provides the lesson. They have nukes. So Trump kisses Kim’s ass and reads his love letters out loud to the public.
Iran can survive far longer than the US and first world economies.
The whole world hates the US even more now.
They hate Trump and MAGA morons for sure.
From afar, there’s no difference between the whole and the part.
They should. For we do evil.
He deserves the blame for not standing up to Israel.
to me all this hubris of the US in the middle east is resurrected colonialism
Thanks for sharing. 😎
Of course it is. What else is it? Let some right winger explain how Iran must not be allowed to have nukes, overlooking Trump’s brag from the June 2025 bombing run when he crowed we sent their nukes back to the stone ages. This Trump guy has no idea what he is blubbering about
“War has consequences”. That is rich, since the United States attacked Iran.
Yes, we attacked the Iranian Regime and the whole country is facing the consequences. If the Regime was smart, they would hightail it to Russia and retire there. Putin could give them some land in the warming area of Siberia for them to pray to their Allah god until they die.
Yeah, it’s the victim’s fault.
Iran today without using the words said Trump lied about them agreeing to give up any nukes. They also said in order to even discuss nukes, all war actions must cease, and they must be given their money back. Not to mention removing sanctions, the blockade, and resolving the Strait.
They today said only THEN will they be willing to discuss nukes. They didn’t change their tune, Trump changed his lies.
Do you think Trump is willing to do ANY of those things first, when he has kept up his demands for surrender terms from Iran?
It’s not what Trump is willing to do. It’s what Israel allows Trump to do.
Meanwhile, JoJo is engaged in the equivalent of blaming a rape victim because she had the nerve to fight back rather than just lie back and take it.
Which shows the sort of human he is.
Iranian Regime can beat their chest and say anything they want. Who cares? They have no power, no means to fight us. All they have is some leftover missiles and drones which, when they let a few go, get shot down to no accomplishment other than to piss off their neighbors.
We can keep the squeeze on far longer than they can hold out.
No accomplishment?
Kuwait Airport Attacked In Deadly Iranian Missile Strike, One Day After Reopening – One Mile at a Time
You have been saying that for over two months now. You will likely say it for another two months.
The longer Iran drags things out, the more leverage they have.
As the oil execs have been saying, the world is running out of oil storage and prices are heading much higher.
YOU keep repeating the same BS with no real substantiation.
Kuwait airport? OK. This does nothing to the US and just pisses off other Arabs. Is that winning in your world view?
“fertilizer made from oil” is a categorically false. The rest is delusional. Did you pick that up from one of those podcasts?
Why on earth should they give up their nuclear program. They clearly need it, to keep the evil idiots in Israel and Washington from bombing them. Look at NK…has the US even dared to go near them when they went nuclear? Why should Isreal be allowed nukes without penalty when Iran is not. Iran is sanctioned even though it has no nukes. The whole nuke question is confused by Western insecurity and the endless lies if Netanyahu. The only country to have used nukes and will use them again if they have a lie big enough to justify the use, is the US. All country should have a sovereign right to a deterrent to US and Israeli aggression.
Just ran across this headline.
“Is Trump Missing?” White House Faces Fresh Questions After President Vanishes From Public View for a Week
“Trump’s absence from public appearances raises questions about his health and political strategy.”
Where is this “headline” from?
I’m watching Trump hold court on TV right now and sign some EO’s. 🤣
This is a crime against humanity. Moving the margin of food security will kill millions of people. Literal genocide. Add it to the list for Nuremberg II.
Mostly third world people. We are soon going to learn how much compassion exists in the USA. Most people will feel there is less than they imagined there is.
I mean this as a serious question. Do you have a dictionary and do you know how to use it? Because if you do, and you know how to use it, the only other option left is that you’re a moron.
You omitted a third option — that you are a feckless cunt.
Excellent post. And when it’s all said and done with the “war” in Iran, we’ll be right back to square one just like Afghanistan. Not much will have changed except Iran will be tolling the Hormuz and reaping huge profits from oil. Probably so much that they can afford to buy nukes off of North Korea, China or Russia.
Musical tribute:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN4ooNx77u0
Never forget the mercenaries that make up the Usonian armed forces who get combat pay and are fast tracked to promotions when a “war” is going on.
Fuck for your self-service.
Good point. And now they are strongly incentivized, to obtain them.
The Netanyahu-Trump war’s effect in this area may well be rather delayed, not affecting what we are eating now so much as what we will eat a year from now–at which time it could be very strong. The ETF of corn futures, symbol CORN, is not anticipating it as of yet. Anon, surely.
lol, thanks for reminding me that idiocracy is alive and well in the comments section.
Seriously, has taco done anything during his reign of terror that has been positive?
Thinking….Trump has demonstrated that you can just do things.
For years, we were treated to democrats and liberals tell us how Obama or Biden really really wanted to do something, say, offer a public option to the ACA, but he couldn’t, because reasons.
Of course, when it came to something he really wanted, like extend and expand the so-called “Patriot Act”, Obama was ready to do whatever was necessary to get his way.
According to the MAGAts, owning the libs.
Imagine thinking your primary motivation in life, as it relates to your politicians, is that pols are there to help you own the libs. Small world, ain’t it?
Small world, small minds, small hearts.
He has done well to secure our border. But given how tight it is, it seems like his policy is likely overly restrictive. Still, it is meant primarily as an earnest plaudit.
I’ll be that guy: “skirmish”, “conflict”.
That’s why your comment on eggs, chicken and the Dow is so awesome in the post. Word games is what humans are good at.
Seems the Nasdaq/Dow/SP is all that 50+% of the population cares about. Imagine if that goes south meaningfully, oh boy. Meanwhile on Main Street, food is ‘spensive. Ironically eating less in ‘merica would actually help in a lot of ways but ‘twould be better if it were by choice and discipline vs inflation.
If/when that $150 oil rolls in due to supply, even if the “skirmish” ends, folks might be biggie mad.
This feels like the exact same setup we had in 2006 to 2007 right before the whole bottom fell out (re: housing). Now we have AI and housing to crater so maybe double the crash? Double the profits!
Got puts?
I was buying long puts when they were really cheap. Then they got 65% cheaper. Will they get 65% cheaper again? That’s the trillion dollar question.
I am dreading buying heating oil this winter. Considering installing a mini split heat pump system in spite of both the up front cost and the fact that the cost of electricity in my state is among the highest in the nation. They have us “over a barrel,” quite literally.
Hoping for a COLD winter in CT!
I see your primary motivation is to own the libs. I am sure you are pissing away 90% of your talent doing so, unless you are simply untalented.
Why must you be such an obnoxious dick?
if he was a dick, he’d be in your mouth.
With WTI crude oil breaking above $96.00 do not expect any reprieve from higher food prices and watch your water supply as well. Lots of US wells are going dry and large irrigated corporate farms suck on the groundwater straw!
“large irrigated corporate farms”
Not to mention data centers. They use a lot of water.
That new Hyperscale data center complex on 40,000 acres in Utah is projected to use more water itself than the current usage of all of Utah right now. Button up your wells.
When you factor in the drought it starts to look really miserable.
Cattle herds are on the decline because there isn’t enough water to grow the food to feed the cattle so it’s cheaper to send them to market. Not much incentive to replenish the herd.
Nebraska and Utah are a borderline dust bowl. They can’t even start any seeds because there’s not enough water and wells are running dry in May. This is about 3 months earlier than usual.
Winter wheat was devastated when January had 70° days and 80 mph winds. The topsoil was stripped. It’s still stripped in a lot of fields. This makes a dust bowl situation more likely.
Colorado is intro dry as well.
Convert to vertical, indoor farming.
Still being a 🍆. 🙃
The world’s largest crops are:
Sugar Cane: 1.94 billion tons
Corn: 1.22 billion tons
Rice: 820 million tons
Wheat: 800 million tons
Palm oil: 420 million tons
Soybeans: 400 million tons
None of those can be grown indoors in the volumes needed or for a reasonable price.
Then let them eat cake!
You need wheat to make the flour for the cake.
Could there be a strategy in all this? A fall in the exchange value of the U.S. dollar and other Western currencies against Asian currencies would put the West in a stronger position economically. You would have more employment (at lower real wages) at home, and you would be contributing less to the growth of employment in China.
I understand that devaluation doesn’t always help: it is entirely possible for a government to go on carrying out stupid policies while its currency is declining. But as I understand it, keeping its currency undervalued did help Germany greatly in the recovery after World War Two.
America, like Rome, has always grown its empire by bringing people from outside in. That is bound to destroy your society eventually. But in the meantime, you have a lot of labor available, and you still have the technically educated people from the white population and no doubt from the Asians.
Trump is not stupid, but he could be being guided by advice to bring about a situation that will lead to an economic recovery, even if it is devastating for the Republican Party in the mid-term elections.
Maybe if we had an economy based on manufacturing and not services. But our economy relies on services and all those services benefit from a strong dollar and access to affordable goods and commodities, not to mention the lifestyle that our population is conditioned to expect. And what manufacturing we do have onshore is heavily reliant on imported components anyway!
Really? LOL
By who? Which Fox News host, cosmetic plastic surgery victim, or raging alcoholic member of his administration is offering this 4d strategy?
We’ve officially gone from mental gymnastics to mental Herculean feats I see.
America, like Rome, began its decline a good while ago. Okay so we crash the dollar. What does that do to everyone’s accumulated savings?
Thanks for covering this topic Mish!
As I have been mentioning for a couple of months, the fertilizer shortage and fuel cost increases are affecting global food production. Especially the rice crop in India ~ which directly feeds 1.3 billion people.
Rice production has to be timed well to fertilizer applications for optimal “tasseling” or node formation and formation of multiple rice bearing stalks. If the timing is off, crop yields drop dramatically (as much as 70% loss). Indian farmers are in terrible shape financially in general and some can not afford to plant at all.
Add to that the surging Pacific El Niño that is likely to disrupt the monsoon season and you have substantial risks to global food supply.
As an aside, the sulphur and potash that is no longer being exported through Hormuz was used as stocks for fertilizer factories all around the Mediterranean plus other Asian nations. This is already a multi year issue.
Some would say that this helps American farmers, and for rice farmers it will increase margins. Corn and soy? Not so much.
US Corn and Soy require significant processing and are not great replacements for rice. I’m producing lots of food so it is not a worry for me, but 3 billion may be affected because of this senseless war.
Well, last week I read a story out of Africa about how some subsistence farmer who had been using organic fertilizer was crowing how lucky he was that he didn’t depend on oil based fertilizer. Perhaps you and other farmers should do the same.
Why should Trump or Netanyahu care? They will feast like Nero.
and: Over 700,000 Poor Kids Across 12 States Have Lost Food Aid Under Trump-GOP Budget Law In my area local schools/libraries are stepping in to at least offer summer time daily lunch to poor kids
https://www.commondreams.org/news/poor-children-losing-food-aid
I wish I had the yard to grow tomatoes the price of them has skyrocketed
https://wolfstreet.com/2026/05/18/food-inflation-in-america-by-product-it-boils-down-to-a-sharp-re-acceleration-on-top-of-already-very-high-prices/
I do have a yard and am growing tomatoes, peppers and cukes. I also have pomegranate, fig, apricot, plum and lemon trees. This being said, I don’t find vegetables or fruits like tomato all that expensive. Last week, I paid $3/lb for very nice Campari cocktail tomatoes at Costco. Other tomato varieties ranged between $3 to $5/lb.
As to hungry kids, if you can’t afford to properly feed your family, then you shouldn’t have kids.
How do you expect to explain words like this to Jesus when you get to the gates? Take a moment to think about that. What exactly are you gonna say when you’re looking the man who fed the masses in the eyes as he asks you what you meant by this.
The thing about Christianity is that you can be an evil SOB right up to the end, then say you’re sorry and it’s all good.
Explains their behavior.
That is not actually correct. It has to be true repentance, not just words. People make up all sorts of nonsense about Christianity.
“heyyy, I was joking. Can’t you take a joke? Don’t be so woke.”
How a US administration that has some of the best intelligence gathering capabilities on the planet can screw up so badly by underestimating an opponent‘s ability to impose heavy economic costs if attacked without provocation will occupy many future historians. The simple answer likely is that the top decision maker didn’t have a clue what he was doing.
#usdefaultism
“How a US administration that has some of the best intelligence gathering capabilities on the planet can screw up so badly…”
Because every human largely, in the end, operates on belief and conjecture. And neither is reality.
Celine’s Second Law readeth thusly:
“Accurate communication is possible only in a non-punishing situation.” aka “communication occurs only between equals”.
Celine calls this law “a simple statement of the obvious” and refers to the fact that everyone who labors under an authority figure tends to lie to and flatter that authority figure in order to protect themselves either from violence or from deprivation of security (such as losing one’s job). In essence, it is usually more in the interests of any worker to tell his boss what he wants to hear, not what is true.
In any hierarchy, every level below the highest carries a subtle burden to see the world in the way their superiors expect it to be seen and to provide feedback to their superiors that their superiors want to hear. In the end, any hierarchical organization supports what its leaders already think is true more than it challenges them to think differently. The levels below the leaders are more interested in keeping their jobs than telling the truth.
Robert Wilson, in Prometheus Rising, uses the example of J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI. Hoover saw communist infiltrators and spies everywhere, and he told his agents to hunt them down. Therefore, FBI agents began seeing and interpreting everything they could as parts of the communist conspiracy. Some even went as far as framing people as communists, making largely baseless arrests and doing everything they could to satisfy Hoover’s need to find and drive out the communist conspiracy. The problem is, such a conspiracy was greatly exaggerated. Hoover thought it was monolithic and pervasive, and any agent who dared point out the lack of evidence to Hoover would be at best denied promotions, and at worst labeled a communist himself and lose his job. Any agent who knew the truth would be very careful to hide the fact.
Meanwhile, the FBI was largely ignoring the problem of organized crime (the Mafia), because Hoover insisted that organized crime did not exist on the national scale. Not only does the leader of the hierarchy see what he wants to see, but he also does not see what he does not want to see. Agents who pursued the issue of organized crime were sometimes marginalized within the organization or hounded into retirement.
In the end, Celine states, any hierarchy acts more to conceal the truth from its leaders than it serves to find the truth.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celine%27s_laws
As much as I agree with Celine’s 2nd law, I question whether Hoover serves as a good prototypical example. He was a sinister, profoundly dishonest empire builder, not a typical bureaucratic cog.
True, but his underlings famously told him what he wanted to hear.
You do realize that there has been this thing that has happened, not all of the files, but a good amount of the KGB files have been looked at. You also realize we don’t have any access and or knowledge of the whereabouts as it relates to the GRU files at this point and what was in what we do have, well let us just say that McCarthy et al, Martin Dies as well, were very, very right and had their numbers pegged way lower than the reality of the penetration and damage. Hoover had his faults, that is for sure, would not begin to adventure into saying he was smearing anyone with the “red” label. We are probably at a point where our history starting in 1933 needs to be completely rewritten.
Even if we pretend that there was a much more serious Communist infiltration than was supposed, Hoover was mostly barking up the wrong trees, stuff like terrorizing some professor who might have attended a couple of meeting 20 years ago in search of loose poon and making him into a veritable spymaster.
Rhetorical question but there’s an answer, they pay no attention to our intel services except when they’re gutting anyone in service who shows the least bit of independent thinking. Trump is a wannabe authoritarian and the key “feature” of authoritarianism is yes-men all the way down.
It’s because they are actually, verifiably, stupid.
Now ain’t that ironic. The smartest person in the room, is the stupidest. Although I believe obtuse fits the Taco.
If only they had consulted you and those who think the same first! 🤣🤣🤣