Noam ChomskyLinguist, leftist intellectual and activist, referred to the manipulation to which “capitalist propaganda” subjected workers and convinced them that their ultimate “ambition in professional life is to be servants to their owners.”
In a dialogue with filmmaker and activist Ken Loach, broadcast at the Troisi cinema in Rome, the veteran American thinker reflected in her opinion on issues related to neoliberal ideology, media manipulation or the lies propagated by the US government.
“In the past, the idea of a permanent job was unbearable. People didn’t want to be subject to a master all their working lives, but now they do. This is one of the great achievements of capitalist propaganda,” said Chomsky.
Growing alienation of the working class
The debate between these two left-wing speakers was entirely aimed at criticizing the liberal economic system, which for both is based on an ideological influence apparatus that increasingly ‘alienates’ the working class.
For Loach, the capitalist system was responsible for limiting the masses’ access to culture, transforming it into a commodity sponsored by big corporations that, through their “generosity,” provide knowledge.
“Capitalism claims equal liberty. The freedom to exploit ourselves for work, to sleep for people on the street or to stay in the biggest hotel if you have enough money,” said Loach.
“All the gains made over the centuries have been lost in decades because of this capitalist ideology. Gradually we are entering a planet on the brink of collapse that will only recover with education and a return to agitation and collective organization,” the director added.
Indispensable ally of capitalism: the media
To build up the lack of critique of the economic system that both activists find in contemporary societies, Chomsky and Loach point to a vital ally of capitalism: the media.
For example, the BBC (British public television), says Loach, “is one of the most sophisticated propaganda tools for the powerful because it presents itself as a wholly independent professional entity, but the reality of the media is that it changes the agenda and discourse of the rich and privileged.”
With that in mind, Chomsky wanted to show how Western media outlets that normally criticize propaganda from countries like China or Russia are deeply complicit in hiding information from citizens.
“Arab television, like Al-Jazeera, broadcasts information better than American media,” the thinker lamented, citing as a topical example the most recent journalistic report on the Nord Stream gas pipeline, which carries Russian fuel across the Baltic Sea. to Germany. (EFE)
Source: La Neta Neta
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
