Crony Capitalism in a Potemkin village
August 20, 2003
Things worth reading, that fit together, and fill me with dread: (0001IC)
From Guardian Unlimited Private Passion: (0001ID)
It is impossible to say whether the cult of privatisation owes its grip more to an ideological commitment by the White House, or the close personal ties between its inhabitants and the businesses they used to work in. (0001IE)
As in most regimes built on crony capitalism, the two have become indistinguishable. (0001IF)
From Toby's Political Diary: A Bad Day in Bush’s World: (0001IG)
All this is not what Bush imagined when he was recruited for the presidency. So why is Bush’s world upside down? (0001IH)
The reason is that never before in his life did he have to achieve anything on his own, or ever take responsibility for his own actions. As a result, he missed the experiences that teach most people the difference between empty slogans and fantasies and reality. We have a President who has basically spent his life in a Potemkin village, and is now overwhelmed when real world experience confounds expectations. (0001II)
And my good pal Jeremy points out from Chuck Palahniuk's Lullaby the following recapitulation of Marcuse that ties it together nicely: (0001IJ)
Old George Orwell got it backward. (0001IK)
Big Brother isn't watching. He's singing and dancing. He's pulling rabbits out of a hat. Big Brother's busy holding your attention every moment you're awake. He's making sure you're always distracted. He's making sure you're fully absorbed. (0001IM)
He's making sure your imagination whithers. Until it's as useful as your appendix. He's making sure your attention is always filled. (0001IO)
And this being fed, it's worse than being watched. With the world always filling you, no one has to worry about what's in your mind. With everyone's imagination atrophied, no one will ever be a threat to the world. (0001IQ)
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