Quote:
Originally Posted by harborlady
Who profits from strife-- it's never the people fighting.
No more parades for the troops when they're coming home and killing themselves?
|
One could certainly get conspiratorial in such manners of thought, but at some level there is, I believe, an absolute level of truth residing in the undercurrent of the theme.
When we look at the definition of government for instance.
Quote:
Definition of GOVERNMENT
1
: the act or process of governing; specifically : authoritative direction or control
|
Authoritative direction or control, but what is obviously less understood is how. Sure, we have our basic government structure, laws, courts, social contracts, etc... but in order to maintain control over large populations of people, I would turn to how the field of marketing works. Edward Bernays, please come to the white phone.
This isn't even something I believe to be evil, or nefarious, or dubious, but in fact is more like prudence and reasonable.
As you and the Op elude to, that if people are busy bickering amongst each other, they are not focusing on the magician's other hand, the one actually performing the trick. This is also one of the aspects of "the common man" among a population in which Plato referred to. It is also one of the foundational aspects of the intellectual branch of Neoconservatism (the Platonist) is that trickery, or magic, or slight of hand, or even an out right lie can be qualified when it is done in the best interest of the people.
I, along with many others have referred to this concept in our educational systems by various angles of approach. If the population is merely marginally educated and in some respects ignorant of the more sophisticated aspects of state craft and governing, then would it not make the job of those governing all the much easier? After all, how many wives or husbands have called their spouses while they were engrossed in a TV movie, and they just waved their hand with, "whatever dear, whatever you say" (now stop bugging me)
I'm sure we have have mentioned before, but in case folks are not familar with an awesome documentary,
The Century of the Self The Century Of Self Part 1 (of 4) Happiness Machines
It is a must watch for anyone interested in the psychological and sociological basis of marketing, propaganda and public relations.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
