General Discussion

krispos42

(49,445 posts)

35. Excellent article

Wed Jul 18, 2012, 07:59 AM

Jul 2012

<snip>

The USSR has been a historical dead letter for over 20 years now -- but there are still plenty of earnest Fox-watching Americans for whom "communism" remains the most terrifying of all scare words. They're vigilantly watching the leftward horizon, scanning for signs of government-inflicted socialism, ready to strip their own democracy of its very ability to thwart totalitarians if that's what must be done to stop totalitarianism.

Unfortunately, they're facing the wrong direction. The real threat of dignity-stripping, liberty-destroying, soul-crushing oppression is coming not from government, but from the very corporations those same people believed were the key to our superiority over the Communist menace. Now that the government can't protect us from rapacious businesses any more, the centrally planned authoritarian state they've feared is already coming to pass -- privately, for the profit of the few, free from pesky accountability or oversight, and without a bit of resistance from the would-be patriots who have been on guard for decades to ensure it could never happen here.

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The New Totalitarianism: How American Corporations Have Made America Like the Soviet Union [View all] xchrom Jul 2012 OP

Yeah.. ananda Jul 2012 #1

k and r nashville_brook Jul 2012 #2

Is Truth. Octafish Jul 2012 #3

in a sad irony amfortas the hippie Jul 2012 #4

I've said for years that our leaders learned the wrong lessons. knitter4democracy Jul 2012 #5

And pretty soon, we'll all be buying everything from one store - Wal-Mart. reformist2 Jul 2012 #6

k&r raouldukelives Jul 2012 #7

The whole helpless and powerless spiel gets old... bhikkhu Jul 2012 #8

That could have been a good joke, but you lost me at "purely democratic constructs" Occulus Jul 2012 #10

In the sense that they are chosen by the people in general bhikkhu Jul 2012 #14

'which essentially makes them almost purely democratic constructs' marmar Jul 2012 #12

You're right, I always choose Lockheed for my warplane needs. JackRiddler Jul 2012 #20

I get your point, but nevertheless corporations are the sum of people's choices bhikkhu Jul 2012 #25

K&R n/t bobthedrummer Jul 2012 #9

In terms of lack of political choice true - TBF Jul 2012 #11

Soviet citizens had to stand in long lines to buy very basic items Art_from_Ark Jul 2012 #15

Yes I saw the propaganda movies in 6th grade TBF Jul 2012 #16

A couple of my geography professors actually took a tour of the USSR with Intourist Art_from_Ark Jul 2012 #19

perestroika (abandonment of central planning) was already implemented by 1985 BOG PERSON Jul 2012 #22

I don't think you can say perestroika was "already implemented" by 1985 Art_from_Ark Jul 2012 #24

The Sovoets had their horrors DonCoquixote Jul 2012 #27

Work for a corporation and try signing on to DU. joshcryer Jul 2012 #32

"Red baiting"? Art_from_Ark Jul 2012 #33

I know what you're doing TBF Jul 2012 #36

Next thing you'll be telling me, Stalin didn't have any purges Art_from_Ark Jul 2012 #42

I'm not getting into this with you. TBF Jul 2012 #45

otoh BOG PERSON Jul 2012 #17

Central planning was very efficient, it was just focused on the wrong things. white_wolf Jul 2012 #39

K&R. Thanks for posting. n/t Egalitarian Thug Jul 2012 #13

They only want what's best for us. kenny blankenship Jul 2012 #18

There's no fundamental difference between state communism and unfettered capitalism. joshcryer Jul 2012 #21

you're the worst BOG PERSON Jul 2012 #23

I dunno - from this vantage point it looks to me like the TBF Jul 2012 #37

You still have the option to not shop at Wal-Mart. joshcryer Jul 2012 #38

In one of his videos Chomsky makes a similar point. white_wolf Jul 2012 #40

Chomsky recognizes that state communism / USSR is capitalist at heart. joshcryer Jul 2012 #43

kr HiPointDem Jul 2012 #26

heh RobertEarl Jul 2012 #28

I've been seriously thinking, there seem to be problems once ANY kind of organization becomes snot Jul 2012 #29

It's the Iron Law of Oligarchy. white_wolf Jul 2012 #41

Very interesting, thanks! snot Jul 2012 #46

K&R patrice Jul 2012 #30

Yup, many of us have made similar observations nadinbrzezinski Jul 2012 #31

I do what I can quaker bill Jul 2012 #34

Excellent article krispos42 Jul 2012 #35

America has changed aint_no_life_nowhere Jul 2012 #44