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Of course, the style of control is different, but the effect is the same. In the West we have an illusion of freedom and choice. We get to say whatever we like

Of course, the style of control is different, but the effect is the same. In the West we have an illusion of freedom and choice. We get to say whatever we like, we get to go an vote for any approved candidate, but at the end of the day the only thing that matters is what the oligarchy wants. The biggest issue is that the media is owned by the oligarchy, and so as you note any opinions that fall outside the accepted norm are ignored. This completely perverts democracy as unbiased media is crucial to having informed public that can vote meaningfully. It's simply not realistic to expect individuals to do their own research and become experts on many different subjects in order to vote because any individual subject can take years of study to grasp properly. The job of the journalists is to do this research for the benefit of the public and then present it in a way that's meaningful to the layman. When the media stops doing its job democracy dies.

throwaway2048 7y ago
The effect is most certainly not the same, the fact that we are able to carry on this conversation on an American news site is evidence of that. If the only thing that mattered was what the oligarchy wanted, Trump would have never been elected, because from all accounts he was widely loathed by those in power, even within his own party, not that it makes him a good president, but its compelling evidence that they have less power than you are assuming.
- yogthos 7y ago
  That's the whole point of the American system. You can say anything you like, and people confuse that with having actual freedoms. What we're really able to do is just scream into the void as the paper I linked in the parent comment clearly shows. Trump is precisely what the oligarchy wanted, his biggest achievement in the office was to drastically cut taxes on the rich and gut regulation and oversight over business. Trump helps the oligarchy and you have to be brain dead not to see that.
- gitrog 7y ago
  > The effect is most certainly not the same, the fact that we are able to carry on this conversation on an American news site is evidence of that. I believe this study is stating exactly that we could carry on this conversation, up to the point where we all agree on something in enough numbers and possibly decide to take action about it.

throwaway2048 7y ago

The effect is most certainly not the same, the fact that we are able to carry on this conversation on an American news site is evidence of that. If the only thing that mattered was what the oligarchy wanted, Trump would have never been elected, because from all accounts he was widely loathed by those in power, even within his own party, not that it makes him a good president, but its compelling evidence that they have less power than you are assuming.

yogthos 7y ago
That's the whole point of the American system. You can say anything you like, and people confuse that with having actual freedoms. What we're really able to do is just scream into the void as the paper I linked in the parent comment clearly shows. Trump is precisely what the oligarchy wanted, his biggest achievement in the office was to drastically cut taxes on the rich and gut regulation and oversight over business. Trump helps the oligarchy and you have to be brain dead not to see that.
gitrog 7y ago
> The effect is most certainly not the same, the fact that we are able to carry on this conversation on an American news site is evidence of that. I believe this study is stating exactly that we could carry on this conversation, up to the point where we all agree on something in enough numbers and possibly decide to take action about it.