Anti-Social Corporations & Government
From: Harry Pasternak (Harry_Pasternaktvo.org)
Date: 07 Aug 1995 15:54:12 GMT
Here is some information that relates to the notion that people are becoming
more and more anti-social in the USA and Canada.

Heres how Nom Chomsky sees this issue in a series of interviews published in
Secrets,Lies And Democracy.

The interviewer is David Barsamian- who originally did the interviews for a
broadcast on Barsamians Alternative Radio series which is heard on a hundred
radio stations in the USA, Canada, Europe and Australia.

Barsamian: Im not quite clear about how to formulate this question. It has to
do with the nature of US society as exemplified in comments like do you own
thing, go it alone, dont tread on me, the pioneer spirit- all that deeply
individualistic stuff. What does that tell you about American society and
culture?

Chomsky: It tells you that the propaganda system is working full time,
because there is no such ideology in the US. Business certainly doesnt
believe it. All the way back to the origins of American society, business has
insisted on a powerful, interventionist state to support its interests and it
still does.

 Theres nothing individualistic about corporations. Theyre big conglomerate
institutions, essentially totalitarian in character. Within them, youre a cog
in a big machine. There are few institutions in human society that have such
strict hierarchy and top-down control as a business organization. Its hardly
dont tread on me- youre being tread on all the time.

 The point of the ideology is to prevent people who are outside the sectors
of coordinated power from associating with each other and entering into
decision making in the political arena. The point is to leave the powerful
sectors highly integrated and organized, while atomizing everyone else.

That aside, there is another factor. Theres a streak of independence and
individuality in American culture that I think is a very good thing. This
dont tread on me feeling is in many respects a heathy one- up to the point
where it keeps you from working together with other people.

 So its got a healthy side and a negative side. Naturally its the negative
side thats emphasized in the propaganda and indoctrination.

Harry Pasternak

- sent via an evaluation copy of BulkRate (unregistered).

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