This is like a how to guide for politicians in a capitalist democracy. Add in some propaganda and make each side fight over inconsequential issues and you've got modern day first world
I have seen so many people laugh when the workers at McDonald's go on strike every year for a living wage. I guess some people find humor when other people have to work for less than they can live on. I've never found this funny.
As higher education is driven to a business model in accord with neoliberal doctrine...[c]ost-cutting dictated by the revered market principles naturally leads to hyper-exploitation of the more vulnerable, creating a new precariat of graduate students and adjuncts surviving on a bare pittance, replacing tenured faculty. All of this happens to be a good disciplinary technique, for obvious reasons.
For those with eyes open, much of what has happened was anticipated by the early '70s, at the point of transition from regulated capitalism to incipient neoliberalism. At the time, there was mounting elite concern about the dangers posed by the democratizing and civilizing effects of 1960s activism, and particularly the role of young people during "the time of troubles." The concerns were forcefully expressed at both ends of the political spectrum.
[T]he liberal internationalists of the Trilateral Commission published their lament over "The Crisis of Democracy" that arose in the "terrible" '60s, when previously apathetic and marginalized parts of the population -- the great majority -- began to try to enter the political arena to pursue their interests. That posed an intolerable burden on the state. Accordingly, the Trilateral scholars called for more "moderation in democracy," a return to passivity and obedience. The American rapporteur, Harvard professor Samuel Huntington, reminisced nostalgically about the time when "Truman had been able to govern the country with the cooperation of a relatively small number of Wall Street lawyers and bankers," so that true democracy flourished.
A particular concern of the Trilateral scholars was the failure of the institutions responsible for "the indoctrination of the young," including the schools and universities. These had to be brought under control, along with the irresponsible media that were (occasionally) departing from subordination to "proper authority" -- a precursor of concerns of the far-right Republican Party today.
EtuMeke on January 17th, 2018 at 12:10 UTC »
This is like a how to guide for politicians in a capitalist democracy. Add in some propaganda and make each side fight over inconsequential issues and you've got modern day first world
apt-get_username on January 17th, 2018 at 12:53 UTC »
I have seen so many people laugh when the workers at McDonald's go on strike every year for a living wage. I guess some people find humor when other people have to work for less than they can live on. I've never found this funny.
make_fascists_afraid on January 17th, 2018 at 15:17 UTC »
<3 Chomsky