tagged w/ Totalitarianism
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Stricken with a terminal disease, the decline of traditional society is unavoidable. For decades, the political institutions that fostered a Republic based upon individual liberty and responsibility fade into fond memory. Defenders of all that made America a shining example of human freedom are attacked and ridiculed for holding onto a moral and ethical system that is based upon the dignity of every individual. Most will blame the failure of this decay on the politicians that willfully pander to the masses with the next generation of social welfare programs. While defining a politician as a scoundrel, deserving damnation, seems obvious; the underlying source of the decay that eats away the culture comes from various directions.
The trends toward despotism are visible for all to see. Most prefer their blinded vision because accepting the lethal condition might require some proactive response. The idea that a single dictator will seize power and rule as a tyranny seems foreign to many plebeians. Yet, the daily news that flows from the corporate mass media build upon the absence of real reporting and fundamental truth that ignores, denies and substitutes meaningless stories for earth shattering events.
Therefore, the significance of the concept, inverted totalitarianism, as defined by Sheldon S. Wolin deserves examination.
“It is all politics all of the time but a politics largely untempered by the political. Party squabbles are occasionally on public display, and there is a frantic and continuous politics among factions of the party, interest groups, competing corporate powers, and rival media concerns. And there is, of course, the culminating moment of national elections when the attention of the nation is required to make a choice of personalities rather than a choice between alternatives. What is absent is the political, the commitment to finding where the common good lies amidst the welter of well-financed, highly organized, single-minded interests rabidly seeking governmental favors and overwhelming the practices of representative government and public administration by a sea of cash.”
Watch the Sheldon Wolin You Tube interview for a summary of his viewpoint.
For an in-depth study of Mr. Wolin’s ideas, review Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism. He asks the following questions:
“Does a demos have a future in the age of globalization, instant communication networks, and fluid borders? Is the notion of “a” demos as asingle, compact body with a “will” and an identity that persists overtime at all possible or even a coherent notion in the age of the political bloggers? Is there time for a more authentic politics, more reflective of the pluralistic character of reality?”
He defines democracy as,
“Democracy is about the conditions that make it possible for ordinary people to better their lives by becoming political beings and by making power responsive to their hopes and needs. What is at stake in democratic politics is whether ordinary men and women can recognize that their concerns are best protected and cultivated under a regime whose actions are governed by principles of commonality, equality, and fairness, a regime in which taking part in politics becomes a way of staking out and sharing in a common life and its forms of self-fulfillment. Democracy is not about bowling together but about managing together those powers that immediately and significantly affect the lives and circumstances of others and one’s self.”
The power influence of the transnational corporation dampens any idealistic notion that democracy is coming from the voices of the people. Momentous influence comes through the propagandist media message. The corporate economy dictates the parameters of the public debate. Trivia replaces the profound. Spending drives a lust for meaningless ingestion of poisonous consumption. The shaping of the popular culture is meant not just to dumb down the public but also to confer a normalcy for accepting the mundane. Rejecting the historic dialogue of the nature of man and the role of a just government is replaced with a diet of manufactured “dependency rights” and “entitlements”.
From Fugitive Democracy: Sheldon Wolin and contemplating the local, the following quote offers an insight on the nature of political apathy that relegates one to accept a mad culture which is devoid from reality.
“In the emerging political economy, Wolin discerns an “anti-political” movement that coordinates the corporation and the state in a drive toward Superpower—that is, “an expansive system of power that accepts no limits other than those it chooses to impose on itself” (p. xvi). As this ‘postmodern’ political economy tends toward Superpower, those in positions of authority demand a new form of citizen: the imperial citizen. Sheldon Wolin reminds us of American president George W. Bush during the tense moments after September 11th, 2001, who exhorted the people to show their citizenship through consumption: “unite, spend, and fly” (590). This pastoral concern by the president emblemizes the postmodern power of the political economy as it reconstitutes “civic culture” as a flattened plane detached from the dynamic structures of Superpower’s soveriegn handle of world affairs. The best thing citizens can do is prove their patriotism by submitting to the authority of the established powers without a word of protest or difference (thus the encouragement to “unite”). Rather than spending unnecessary time and energy worrying about the changing shape of common life—of the networks that bind us to near and distant neighbors—the postmodern citizen faces the multiplicity of demands and choices available at the local Starbucks as she scrolls through the latest bids on ebay while listening to music on her iPod as she waits for the latest iTunes song to upload on her iBook. With so much to do, why worry ourselves with what our representatives are paid to do? This is the imperial citizen according to Superpower—a free-floating, apolitical subject, moved by the television pulse from the security of home to the perpetual satisfaction of shopping malls. “Superpower needs an imperial citizen,” writes Wolin, “one who accepts the necessarily remote relationship between the concerns of the citizen and those of the power-holders, who welcomes being relieved of participatory obligations, and who is fervently patriotic.” (565).”
The imperial citizen is truly a fool. The imperium that surrounds the disengaged participant in the latest escalation of self-imposed slavery, is the ultimate result of the corporate/state.
Progressive author and pundit, Chris Hedges adds his vantage point in the video, Inverted Totalitarianism: Brand Obama and the Corporate State.
Hedges’ talent for ripping apart the corporate state in all its horror is well established. However, his clarion voice goes unheard in the corridors of real power. The economy dictates the marketplace that is available for sale. The advertisement is the message that is acceptable to believe. And the limits upon one’s ability to think and act rationally is controlled by the inverted totalitarianism that is of our own making.
Blaming external forces for all the ills of circumstances begs the issue. As long as passive individuals...
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/02/28/inverted-totalitarianism-and-the-corporate-state/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=inverted-totalitarianism-and-the-corporate-state&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitterStricken with a terminal disease, the decline of traditional society is unavoidable.... more
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In a bid to enable nationwide martial law, the Senate is scheduled to vote on S. 1867, referred to as the National Defense Authorization Act bill, an act drafted in secret by Senators Carl Levin (D-Michigan) and John McCain (R-Arizona).
The bill, if passed, would expand the military’s power to go after any terrorism suspect, including American citizens, anywhere in the world—including within the United States—and confine them indefinitely without being charged or tried.
Under the ‘worldwide indefinite detention without charge or trial’ provision of S.1867, the National Defense Authorization Act bill, which is set to be up for a vote on the Senate floor this week, the legislation will “basically say in law for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who supports the bill.
http://www.allgov.com/Top_Stories/ViewNews/Senate_Bill_Allows_Indefinite_Imprisonment_of_Americans_without_Trial_111129In a bid to enable nationwide martial law, the Senate is scheduled to vote on S. 1867,... more
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"The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country." http://dedroidify.blogspot.com/2008/04/edward-louis-bernays.html"The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions... more
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Because when you rob people of what little they have, in order to protect the interests of those who have more than anyone deserves, you should expect resistance—whether organized protests or spontaneous looting. And that’s not politics. It’s physics. http://www.thenation.com/article/162809/daylight-robbery-meet-nighttime-robberyBecause when you rob people of what little they have, in order to protect the... more
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This mini-documentary film looks at the initial causes and wider context surrounding the recent England riots. Politicians refuse to acknowledge their role in creating a deeply unfair and failing society, a perfect storm of police brutality, city poverty and austerity measures, that will only get worse unless the root problem is addressed.
Did you know for the rioters to be on par with the looting by the financial bailouts, corporate tax avoiders and Libyan invasion, they would have to repeat the same level of damage……4,320 times? http://nwoobserver.wordpress.com/2011/08/16/perfect-storm-the-england-riots-documentary/This mini-documentary film looks at the initial causes and wider context surrounding... more
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Ten years after 9/11 Afghanistan remains the center of a growing Islamic insurgency and the longest war in American history. The success of America’s seventy year old psychological warfare campaign, where the lie became the truth and the truth became the enemy of the state, has now so disorientated America’s institutional thinking that we have reached the moment when the state can no longer shield the American people from the consequences of that lie. http://nwoobserver.wordpress.com/2011/08/15/911-and-the-american-mind/Ten years after 9/11 Afghanistan remains the center of a growing Islamic insurgency... more
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Not only are our tax dollars being squandered, the United States is facing isolation on the world stage thanks to its special relationship with Israel... We will also ask our government to keep that 30 billion dollars at home. Wouldn’t that money be better spent in American schools rather than Israel? http://september15.org/Not only are our tax dollars being squandered, the United States is facing isolation... more
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That twenty per cent of the House of Representatives will be spending its recess holiday on American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) paid tours of Israel does not seem to have made the mainstream news. http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2011/08/08/its-still-occupied-territory/That twenty per cent of the House of Representatives will be spending its recess... more
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The recent debt limit congressional circus must be a new Twilight Zone episode written by a computerized program straight out of central casting. Rod Serling must be turning in his grave. A twenty-first century rewrite of his exceptional Seven Days in May screenplay is certainly in order, this time with a different ending. If there are any confused or co-opted worshipers of the federal government left, what more proof do you need that the bipartisan political criminal class is determined to destroy this nation? Not convinced that this assessment is correct; then you need remediable instruction in arithmetic. Increasing the spending with more borrowed money cannot reduce the debt. http://batr.org/autonomy/080711.htmlThe recent debt limit congressional circus must be a new Twilight Zone episode written... more
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We’ve long reported about the training of US military personnel for domestic deployment in the event of large scale economic breakdown, civil unrest, terrorism, and catastrophic natural disasters like asteroids. It is clear based on historical precedent that the government would hold off as long as possible before alerting the American people of an impending disaster or emergency. We strongly believe that if an ‘event’ was imminent, details and clues would emerge through alternative news reports across the internet – most of which would trickle in from user comments, forum postings, video uploads, and independent research groups like The Intel Hub. Most, if not all, of that information would be ignored and/or discredited by mainstream media, especially if the government knew of such an event and expected pandemonium and hysteria as a result. Nonetheless, it has been our mission to report on the out-of-the-ordinary occurrences in the world in the hopes of alerting our readers to fan hitting scenarios. Non-traditional news reporting may be the only preemptive warning system we have. While we urge readers not to panic, we suggest, as always, to be aware of what’s going on around you and consider the possibilities – and to plan accordingly. http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/footage-of-mass-troop-movements-across-u-s-are-they-getting-ready_08032011We’ve long reported about the training of US military personnel for domestic... more
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Obviously it is timeless when you consider its applicability then, before then, now, and unfortunately, most likely, in the future; at least the near future. It reminds us cynically, grimly, but so very realistically that: Everybody Knows, but most deny, some look the other way, a few acknowledge, and a very few actually try to do something about it. http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/2011/08/06/%E2%80%9Ceverybody-knows%E2%80%9D-but-%E2%80%A6/Obviously it is timeless when you consider its applicability then, before then, now,... more
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What is happening as the US is taken over by fascist forces? If past is prologue:
1. Many police will go along with it
2. People who are otherwise useless will be recruited to enforce "the law" (example TSA)
3. The well-to-do will be more likely to go along with it
4. People who actually work for a living will make up the bulk of the resistance
5. Ultimately, distinctions between "right" and "left" won't matter. Sane and patriotic people will resist regardless of the details of the political background
6. Most people will do nothing and just keep their heads down and try to survive
7. All kinds of government atrocities will take place in broad daylight and most people will just look the other way
8. There will be some heroic people
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUb-lgrM92AWhat is happening as the US is taken over by fascist forces? If past is prologue:... more
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