lis's allsorts

Chomsky, Baudrillard and NMS. A philosopher and political activist, political commentator and a ghetto hip hop band. They all say and are hitting on the same things. I like the diversity of the trio. OK fair enough one philosopher to a social commentator isn’t that big a leap and its easy to nullify the words of a ghetto band. But listen to them they are speaking truth and sending out warnings. We a living in hyper real times. “Hyperreality tricks consciousness into detaching from any real emotional engagement, instead opting for artificial simulation, and endless reproductions of fundamentally empty appearance.” Life is a video game, we move around our lives playing out parts that some higher elite have created for us. Just like a real life SIMS game. Nothing is real its just so carefully manufactured that we think its real our well being has been replaced by unhealthy ideals of who we should be. We need to wake up before we destroy ourselves. We all know it but its easier to switch off.

“Modern industrial civilization has developed under a system of convenient myths. The driving forces of modern industrial civilization have been individual material gain, which is accepted as legitimate and praise worthy on the grounds that private vices yield public benefits. Its long been understood that a society based on these principles will destroy itself in time. It can only persist in whatever suffering and injustice it entails as long as its possible to pretend that the destructive forces that humans create are limited, that the world is an infinite resource and that the world is an infinite garbage can.

At this stage of history either one of two things is possible. Either the general population will take control of its own destiny and will concern itself with community interests guided by values of solidarity, sympathy and concern for others or alternatively there will be no destiny for anyone to control. As long as some specialised class is in a position of authority it is going to set policy in the special interests it serves. But the conditions of survival and justice require rational social planning in the interests of the community as a whole by now that means the global community.

The question is whether privilege elites should dominate mass communication and should use this power as they tell us they must. Namely to impose necessary illusions to manipulate and deceive they stupid majority and remove them from the public arena. The question in brief is whether democracy and freedom are values to be preserved or threats to be avoided.

In this possibly terminal phase of human existence democracy and freedom are more than values to be treasured they may be essential to survival.”

Listen.