In a 'democracy' corrupted by the greedy - objections must be expressed in other ways
Surveillance technology avaliable for (subtle)1984
Matrix quote 'And some of them are so ingrained in the sytem they will fight to protect it..'
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In a 'democracy' corrupted by the greedy - objections must be expressed in other ways |
Surveillance technology avaliable for (subtle)1984 |
Matrix quote 'And some of them are so ingrained in the sytem they will fight to protect it..' |
Over the past few years I've become more and more interested with sociology and politics and have some strong opinions on the whole notion of state and 'modern' society. To make it clear to anyone who doesn't know me - I'm massively opposed to capitalism and would have liked to have attended the rallys they held on Mayday just to meet some like minded people.
A lot of the concepts and things I believe in are expressed on the 'capitalism sucks' web page. I do have a few sociology issues however that I thought I might write about and expand on so that you, dear reader, can get an insight into some of my more abstract moments when I'm not at fight club.
I have a massive problem with people working their lives for a pay check. It's something I am massively opposed to and is a good starting point for a lot of things that I thought I might talk about.
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WHY, do so many people feel that the right thing to do is to get a 9 to 5 job and settle down working for a living and selling your corporate soul for a meger wage cheque? I believe that much of this stems from our upbringing, for example if your parents are working middle class you have a definate propensity for picking up their work ethic and believing that a 'good' life is spent looking after your family and providing for yourself. The problem I find with this is the feelings associated with it. I have no problem with anyone deciding their own future and if you want to spend your days working so that you have your nights free to do with as you please then fine. I find it dificult to judge my friends who come from a different background and have chosen to live their lives on the dole. I find it difficult to see why I have such a more fullfilling life than they do. Perhaps they ARE living off the state but it's the state that has allowed them to become educated in the belief that their way of life is acceptable. |
| My real problem lies with those of the comunity who have a job, at the bottom end of the ladder. The one's who have been educated to believe that working for a living is 'right' and a 'good' thing to do. They work 9 to 5 on a factory line and they get their cheque every week but why is it so much lower than their educated friend? Why is the guy living across the neighbourhood earning twice as much as them for doing half as much work. What gave him a right to pawn off his intellect and earn twice as much as my friend who works for his living? My friend with the nice job in the tidy office - the stock broker or the sales executive, the retail manager or the computer salesman - why does he get more money than my friend working at the cable factory or the scrap yard? |
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Perhaps God chose them and gave them some gift or maybe ,and I think you know which reason I prefer if you've read any of my philosophical beliefs, they had a better-off mommy and daddy, they went to a better school and they lived in a nice house and ate good food. (Maslow). It the vicious circle of the rich that pisses me off. How dare someone from a privaledged background justify the money they earn. If you've read Marxism, the upper class control the means of production and they pay the workers a meager wage to prduce for them something which they sell on at 8 times the pruduction value - none of the money filters down. Then the evil factory owner has a child and leaves his factory and his money to his children who are born into a lifestyle they never worked for. Is it right that one child be born with a head start? |
| I feel however that the upper classes have created a system where the lower classes are treated no better than DOGS where those with power use subtle psychology to influence the buying decisions of the uneducated masses and in such a way self perpetuate a system that allows those in power to stay in power and to provide an ill education for those without the power to make a change so their shear masses amount to nothing because they have been force fed subliminally messages which make them feel that they are living for an image (ask McEntie about postmodern sociology) that they are better people if they wear a specific designer label or drink a certain cola. They have no drive to become something more because their minds are bogged down with becoming something false, becoming a market puppet, a slave to fashion. |  |
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"War is important for consuming the products of human labour, if this work would be used to increase the standard of living, the control of the party over the people would decrease. War is the economy basis for a hierarchical society." - 1984 "Manipulating the uninformed lower classes, creating false images of power/popularity which they have little choice but to waste their money following consumes the prophits of their labour and thus decreases their ability to educate themselves by lowering their contentment level so they cannot reach self actualisation (Maslow). The society in which education costs a price and the educated lead the masses into wasting their money chasing a false dream is a truely perpetuating heirarchical society." - Ben Smith (2000) |
I believe that the manipulative nature of advertising is allowed by the government (the corrupt capitalist upper classes) because of the amount of money involved and that democracy is being destroyed because of this perversive affect on true democracy. (How can one man make a change when all the other Lords have interests in the profits to be made by allowing a moraly unjustifiable bill to pass e.g.waste dumping)
For example how can it be right to use certain colours and images (especially the use of sexual images) on television to gain the viewer's attention and to make the product look more alluring. As animals many times we cannot suppress our natural instincts and our basic body mechanics and the educated are payed by those in power to use this knowledge of ourselves as human beings for manipulation surely knowledge of our true nature should be an insight into ourselves and should let us SEE for example where advertising is manipulating us subliminaly and stop this. However with capitalism the rights to these discoveries are bought and sold and used to corrupt the minds of the masses some more.
(I recently read a book on the brain and the mind and found out that depending on which eye an image is placed closer to will effect the side of the brain which interprets. A different reaction to the same picture can be produced by the positioning of the image relative to the orientation of the viewer. Obviously I knew about the general partition of the brain but I had never been told about this resulting affect. How many times do they do a split screen on television to compare washing powders or hair products!)
| Everybody knows about the effect of subliminal messaging but this type of manipulation of the sences is allowed and I believe is used as a direct result of capitalism. I don't believe in some Big Brother organisation that is allowing this to continue. I feel that it is an unavoidable sideaffect of capitalism - In the effort for a prophit companies are forced to use any and all legal means to sell the product, this is not a fear of some type of conspiracy or big brother scenario there is no ONE person trying to control society it seems to me that this is just a unavoidable result of the nature of capitalism. |  |
Where is the morality in Big business trying to sell you things you don't need in the ever constant search for prophit, that the buyer is being manipulated apparently doesn't matter. I think that the reason advertisers are allowed to use such sales tactics is due to the corruption of government itself and the kickbacks many of the polititions receive( not the work of some underground big brother organisation but again an unavoidable affect of capitalism forcing people to use these means in order to stay in buisness). Why else would the powerful allow the uninformed to be treated like animals and lead around by their instincts.
If there was nothing to fear from being a good person, if there wasn't the threat of bankrupcy and the false belief that without money a man is of less worth then perhaps this corruption would not have to happen. If society as a whole rewarded innovation without allowing 'sold to the highest bidder'.(Conspiracy theories about multimillion dollar Petrochemical companies holding back development of clean burning fuels)
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I'm just starting to get more and more frustrated with political structures that support a society which promotes elitism, greed and selfishness. How can CHILDREN in Third world contries to work all day manufacturing Nike trainers and there be no mass public outcry. We are dogs and the media hold the leashes. Through the media corporate giants feed children in this country with images their products and the popularity and success they attain but hide from our children the reality of the prophit margin these people are making. Society allows this?!? |
Society allows this and yet critisises me humbuging Christmas
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- Manly Hall (1901-1990) Canadian philosopher, author |
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- Earl Warren (1891-1974) US politician, jurist "The Christian Science Monitor," 21 May 1964. |
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- Tom Clancy as Jack Ryan, The Bear and the Dragon, 2000 (submitted by Chris D.) |
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- Mark Twain |
I've been thinking about the concept of autonomy and the continuing use of the internet to increase the disparity of information between the individual and the system. Rebellion is the purest expression of autonomy and I was thinking about the use of religion as a support for the capitalist system.
In a society where autonomy and power are taken away from the masses a religion which allows them to express their autonomy through a 'sin' would prevent mass revolt by impeding the realisation of this 'inner party' control. If these religious rules could be chosen by those in power who profit from a capitalist system then surely the condemnation of greed, gluttony and vanity would actually increase the desirability of items which demonstrate revolt against these imposed rules. If those in charge failed to enforce penalties for opposition of these rules they would profit from the result. If Laws against theft are created and obeyance of these 'sins' ridiculed...
Am I taking crap or can anyone see where I'm coming from?
Ever studied any Ethics?
I recently got into the subject and am reading a little on philosophical ethics but it's different from every other kind of subject that I've stusied so far in that there doesn't seem to be a conclusion. I just can't understand how so many people have looked into this subject and yet there seems to be no way of reaching a conclusion when so many people suffer because of the greedy selfish nature of man(it does seem right though that something so abstract cannot be nailed down and concluded. Maybe there are no answers to the really difficult questions).
