Re: Observer poll gives tories 12 pt lead - Another poll gives tories only 1 pt lead... Archived Message
Posted by dovetailjoint on September 15, 2019, 2:59 pm, in reply to "Re: Observer poll gives tories 12 pt lead - Another poll gives tories only 1 pt lead..."
It's the concept of 'citizenship' that's behind most of what you refer to, Ken. Citizenship is about far more than voting and requires that one participates in the democratic process which includes accessing information and knowledge and then making informed judgements, acting rationally on them. According to liberal economic dogma that's what people do, consumers, in the marketplace when deciding what to purchase. It's similar to voting for a product or service. However, this is clearly not what happens. We don't make informed rational decisions. We make, mostly, emotional decisions based on how we feel about a product. Modern advertising is based on these reactions and they are fantastically good at selling almost anything to the public. Then the techniques of advertising were applied to political propaganda and one began to steer the public into buying political ideas and voting for politicians who were marketed like cans of baked beans. Think about our wars, just over the last century. They were obviously imperialist and not in the interests of the millions of people fighting them and dying, or the tens of millions supporting them. Did the masses revolt and say 'No!' to these wars, stop them happening by calling general strikes? No, on the whole they supported the wars, like sheep being herded to the slaughterhouse and the butchers' waiting knives. So much for the wisdom of the masses! Why are people so easioy led? Is it really just a question of propaganda or is there soemthing deeper at work, something more disturbing and hidden? The history of civilisation is the history of elite rule. Without civilisation their couldn't be elite rule. Tiny powerful groups controlling and steering the people, for their own narrow interests. Apparently we live in incredibly sophisticated societies with the best informed and best educated public, ever. Yet, at the same time the US and the UK are led by brazen demagogues and at least half the population are perfectly happy with that state of affairs. It's a bit like Hitler's come back, but with his rough edges polished off.
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