Advertising, marketing, propaganda [1], campaigning, “persuasion”, there are lots of words across a broad spectrum of, what is, a variation on a theme. Ultimate

Advertising, marketing, propaganda [1], campaigning, “persuasion”, there are lots of words across a broad spectrum of, what is, a variation on a theme. Ultimately it comes down to manipulation delivered through multiple methods. Perhaps sometimes that manipulation is unavoidable, maybe even beneficial and not nefarious. But when you look at it in the context of economics - a “science” that is an artificial construct with none of the immutability of, say, the laws of physics, even though in some circles it is treated and discussed as such - and our false god, capitalism, it is vital, if not intrinsic to that domain. It is our system a values, collectively, as a culture and a society, that allows it to continue and thrive, albeit often having to adapt. Because to ultimate goal is to keep us spending. To keep us acquiescing, complacent and conforming even when we believe we are not, striving to contribute to the not-so-greater good. Generating monetary wealth, not necessarily for ourselves, at the expense of, one could say, the wealth of the planet. We’ve been groomed [2] in this way for a long time now. And the discontinuities that are beginning to manifest [3] are revealing how brittle and finite it all is. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bernays https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bernays [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Century_of_the_Self https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Century_of_the_Self [3a] https://alexsteffen.substack.com/p/were-not-yet-ready-for-whats-already https://alexsteffen.substack.com/p/were-not-yet-ready-for-wh... [3b] https://alexsteffen.substack.com/p/discontinuity-is-the-job https://alexsteffen.substack.com/p/discontinuity-is-the-job