Freedom in an unfree world.
As states around the world increase their grasp on power, it is more important than ever to question their motives and halt the pervasive denial of their actions.
“Bullshit is the glue that binds us as a nation” -George Carlin
Growing up, it always seems like there are explanations for anything happening, that is beyond our understanding. There always seems to be an explanation from the adults in the room, even if the narrative we’re told feels more like a gaslighting than enlightenment.
It has become somewhat mainstream agree with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as being colossal “mistakes”. Hundreds of thousands of civilians dead. A mistake? Quite the underwhelming critique of an atrocity of this magnitude, yet this description is hardly surprising. For continuing the criticism would inevitably lead one to the realisation that these wars were strategies for establishing domain over the middle east, for both natural recourses and a continuation of cold-war proxy warfare. A fact that is hardly in alignment with the narrative of western countries about securing freedom and human rights for oppressed populations. Even polling from middle eastern countries show a widespread consensus of opinion that the U.S. is the main threat, which has invaded their countries for oil.
Yet, to truly accept this, we would have to begin questioning the very foundation and purpose of the governments we otherwise create the structure of our lives. It takes little probing through the thin venire of propaganda-narratives, to discover that the main purpose states has, both currently and historically, consisted of accumulation and centralisation of wealth and power.
The U.S especially, has consistently sought and succeeded to interfere in global development, so as to ensure its grasp of power. South American, Indochinese, Middle eastern, African and even South European countries have been the victims of U.S imperialism, surmounting in staging of coups, orchestration of genocides, or military invasion. This criticism doesn’t exclude Europe, where as an example, France still to this day has an imperial grasp on the economies and governments of several African countries.
These atrocities are hardly common knowledge, despite considerable documentation and literature, which is mainly due to the efficiency of the state-sponsored propaganda. Schools and universities serve adeptly at conveying to kids that anything their government has done is moral, and that any criticism of said government needs to be kept within an acceptable spectrum, and dissidence hereof to be punished or ridiculed. As kids grow up, mainstream corporate media takes over the role of providing propaganda, receiving their wealth from large corporations. I refer to Manufacturing Consent (Edward S. Herman, Noam Chomsky, 1988), for more on this topic, specifically.
All of this effort by states and corporations, whose interest are highly aligned, has led to a common denial of what is happening in right in front of people. We deny that states and corporations continue gaining wealth, while most of the population lives in wage-slavery or worse. We deny that Edward Snowden, Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning, and others, are being detained, tortured, prosecuted despite having committed only the crime of patriotism -of doing the right thing to ensure the safety and freedom of their fellow humans.
The corona-crisis especially, has been a prime showcase of the problems we are facing. Any dissidence and critique of governmental reaction to the virus, has been met with censorship by social media platforms and ridiculed in the arena of news- and social media. Even worse, some people have turned to reporting on their fellow human beings, for the crime of being outside or being too close to each other. Although this should make white people more aware of the struggles of overly policed people of colour, this is a step closer to a police-state.
All this over a virus that has proven to be as deadly as any other flu-season, has been a prime opportunity for states to instil fear in the population, and further centralise power. This is not to diminish the plight of people living under wage-slavery, but merely to point out that this virus has simply expanded an already gushing wound in the economic structure of especially the U.S. The efficiency of the narrative has been clear from the beginning, creating a self-righteous attitude that praises staying inside, and demonises those who step outside, while arguing that this will protect the elderly and those of weak immune systems. A goal that could be achieved by social programmes that actually provide some semblance of safety for the exposed parts of the population, making sure they receive food, supplies, etc. The WHO now even recognises Sweden’s approach of minimal reaction, as the most viable. This does contrast with the U.S, where the same safety-net doesn’t exist, and where the medical sector is fully dedicated to making profits, rather than curing people.
The point here is that our problems are not solved by surrendering our rights to the state, and directing anger at our neighbours. Instead, we need to recognise how the interests of states and corporations lie in directly maintaining and increasing their grasps of power in a true Machiavellian sense. Theories on the motivation of states and large corporation are important, whether or not they are considered conspiratorial in the mainstream, but the true sources of our problems need little theory to be exposed. Working people live mostly in wage-slavery, while wealth is increasingly hoarded in the hands of a few. People are increasingly sick, lonely, depressed, while consumer-culture increasingly promises to solve these problems, through horrible foods, medications and unhinged materialism. The possibility of change is ever present, yet until we accept the current reality, we will remain on the current course.
Every entity of authority needs to be questioned in every way possible, starting with the two most influential ones; the states and the large corporations. Doing so will most likely lead one to the understanding that most of the current global problems are caused by the struggle for dominance between states and corporations, often in conjunction. Referring again to the example of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is clear that the main purpose was an attempt to gain control over the region’s oil, benefitting both the state and certain large corporations.
The same propaganda was used domestically in both the U.S and Europe to enhance mass-surveillance and establish inhuman prisons such as Guantanamo Bay. As late as 2019 the U.S government decided to renew the Patriot Act, which had facilitated the expansion of mass-surveillance. This quest for control was present throughout both the Bush- and the Obama-administration and has carried over to the Trump-administration. Interestingly, both Bush and Obama have seen higher rates of approval, despite their respective records of warfare, which only further shows the ease with which people are willing to forget and forgive, so long as they can delude themselves into believing that the people they have surrendered their power to, have their best interest at heart.
This structure of power that currently exists relies on our consent to endure. If the public seems to be getting out of order, the quest for the authorities becomes one of manufacturing the necessary consent. We may suffer under the current system, but as long as we simply participate, we are giving consent to things continuing as usual. Despite how powerless and insignificant an individual can feel, it is nonetheless that person that needs to be controlled for the current organisation of power to endure.
Yet, through heavy propaganda and enforcement, people are convinced or pressured into surrendering their power, and then being told that the only influence they have is casting a vote every two-four years. This is of course, a lie. If enough people simply chose something else for themselves, there will be nothing those in power can do. In fact, the very act of choosing another way of life, strips the states and corporations from their power.
This is the cross-roads we find ourselves at now. One path leads to authoritarian dystopia which is what states and corporations lead us towards. The other option though, is one based on freedom and solidarity. Where people are free to pursue whichever lives they desire, and where this inherently leads to interconnectedness and thereby safety. This world can only be achieved by individuals coming together and choosing to stand for something better, and the first step is to see through the thin veil of propaganda and realise that the very people who are given power in our societies, use said power for gaining further power, while destroying the lives of the very people relying on them.
