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A review by kevin_shepherd
Profit Over People: Neoliberalism and Global Order by Noam Chomsky
5.0
It is astonishing to see how remarkably similar America’s two political parties actually are once the platitudes of pretense are stripped away. I found that realization to be a tough pill to swallow, especially now when polarization and tribalism seem to be at historic highs, but no one articulates an “inconvenient truth” better than Noam Chomsky.
Speaking to us from the relative calm of 1999, Chomsky parts the curtains of deception to reveal that the policies enacted by both parties represent the financial interests of large corporations and wealthy investors. Generations of carefully crafted political messaging have been so successful that constituents, myself included, rarely question their intent. As a result, environmental regulations have slowly eroded, taxes on the wealthiest among us have all but disappeared, public education is in shambles, and social safety nets are being dismantled. All of these things are being done under the guise of doing tremendous service to the public and the environment.
“[David Hume, 1711-1776] concluded that government is founded on control of opinion, a principle that “extends to the most despotic and most military governments, as well as the most free and most popular.” ...a more accurate version is that the more “free and popular” a government, the more it becomes necessary to rely on control of opinion to ensure submission to the rulers.”
The message being: “Don’t worry. The politicians obviously have our best interests at heart. Nothing to see here. Move along.”
Speaking to us from the relative calm of 1999, Chomsky parts the curtains of deception to reveal that the policies enacted by both parties represent the financial interests of large corporations and wealthy investors. Generations of carefully crafted political messaging have been so successful that constituents, myself included, rarely question their intent. As a result, environmental regulations have slowly eroded, taxes on the wealthiest among us have all but disappeared, public education is in shambles, and social safety nets are being dismantled. All of these things are being done under the guise of doing tremendous service to the public and the environment.
“[David Hume, 1711-1776] concluded that government is founded on control of opinion, a principle that “extends to the most despotic and most military governments, as well as the most free and most popular.” ...a more accurate version is that the more “free and popular” a government, the more it becomes necessary to rely on control of opinion to ensure submission to the rulers.”
The message being: “Don’t worry. The politicians obviously have our best interests at heart. Nothing to see here. Move along.”