4 ms·

Sometimes I wonder if the cheerleaders really notice that they said exactly the opposite a few months ago. Some people seem to be wired to enthusiastically go w

Sometimes I wonder if the cheerleaders really notice that they said exactly the opposite a few months ago. Some people seem to be wired to enthusiastically go with the flow without thinking too much about it. Maybe they really believe what they are saying? You see the same in politics. Example: People strongly believe that deficits are destroying the country while the "other" side is in power. Then "their" side comes in, increases deficits and these people immediately forget what they thought about deficits before. Maybe Orwell's "doublethink" in 1984 was just an observation, not fiction.

kiliantics 8y ago
People think you need to be living under a cartoonish totalitarian dictatorship in order to be brainwashed. Liberal capitalist democracies have arguably figured out a more effective way.
- monocasa 8y ago
  Specifically this concept is known as 'inverted totalitarianism' for those Googling along at home.
  - scottlocklin 8y ago
    Amen to that. I remember the first time I listened to Chris Hedges, with his weird round glasses, going on about this and thinking .... well, go read the wiki entry while you still can. It's good.
  - kiliantics 8y ago
    This is not a new phenomenon though. It has existed since liberal democracies formed. Think of the robber barons and yellow journalism in the 19th century. If your society allows a minority of people to amass great power or wealth - whether through monarchy, fascism, socialist bureaucracy, or representative democracy and capitalist accumulation - you will find those people abusing their power.
rhizome 8y ago
Iron Law of Oligarchies (...Institutions, Companies, etc.): "...the people who control institutions care first and foremost about their power within the institution rather than the power of the institution itself. Thus, they would rather the institution "fail" while they remain in power within the institution than for the institution to "succeed" if that requires them to lose power within the institution." http://www.tinyrevolution.com/mt/archives/001705.html http://www.tinyrevolution.com/mt/archives/001705.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_law_of_oligarchy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_law_of_oligarchy

kiliantics 8y ago

People think you need to be living under a cartoonish totalitarian dictatorship in order to be brainwashed. Liberal capitalist democracies have arguably figured out a more effective way.

monocasa 8y ago
Specifically this concept is known as 'inverted totalitarianism' for those Googling along at home.
- scottlocklin 8y ago
  Amen to that. I remember the first time I listened to Chris Hedges, with his weird round glasses, going on about this and thinking .... well, go read the wiki entry while you still can. It's good.
- kiliantics 8y ago
  This is not a new phenomenon though. It has existed since liberal democracies formed. Think of the robber barons and yellow journalism in the 19th century. If your society allows a minority of people to amass great power or wealth - whether through monarchy, fascism, socialist bureaucracy, or representative democracy and capitalist accumulation - you will find those people abusing their power.

rhizome 8y ago

Iron Law of Oligarchies (...Institutions, Companies, etc.): "...the people who control institutions care first and foremost about their power within the institution rather than the power of the institution itself. Thus, they would rather the institution "fail" while they remain in power within the institution than for the institution to "succeed" if that requires them to lose power within the institution." http://www.tinyrevolution.com/mt/archives/001705.html http://www.tinyrevolution.com/mt/archives/001705.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_law_of_oligarchy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_law_of_oligarchy