[Cloud9]

The logical conclusion of the mindset that disarms the public and removes the right of self defense is the police state.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 05_pf.html

[Jack]

Compare how we are today with how we were 30 years ago, and we are already in a police state.

We have...secret police...informants...checkpoints...surveillance...and a host of other things discussed elsewhere. That's today. Go to an airport if you don't believe it.

Of course we're going to have totalitarianism.

[BigTex]

There was a fascinating book written by a fellow name Earl Shorris in the early 1980s called "Scenes From Corporate Life" (out of prinit now, but you can pick it up used) and his thesis was that the modern corporation is actually every bit as totalitarian as communism, in that the modern corporation demanded that its employees completely remake their personalities to match the vision and objectives of the corporation.

He cites example after example of intelligent and capable people who allowed their personalities to be completely absorbed by some corporate identity that ultimately proved meaningless as the corporation cast them off when they were no longer useful.

It was an interesting thesis, since prosperity has a way of glossing over the means if the ends are appealing.

Many white collar workers especially have been living in a totalitarian society for much of their lives as they have pursued a career path that demanded nothing less than complete immersion in the corporate, military or government culture in which they work.

In some ways an overtly totalitarian system is EASIER to resist because you don't submit voluntarily. If I turned my TV on and a harsh voice said "Go to the store and buy some worthless plastic crap!" I would likely NEVER do it unless forced to do so. However, when I see the appealing images on TV of people having FUN with the worthless plastic crap I may begin thinking to myself "I want to have fun too. I want to hang around fun people. Maybe if I bought some more worthless plastic crap I would have more fun and hang around fun people..."

[Kingcoal]

Well, the difference in America is that it's always been voluntary. Don't want to get searched, don't go to the airport. Don't want your life controlled by corporate fascism, don't work for a large corporation. In most any society, you have the ability to live relatively free. Poor, but free at least.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Kingcoal', 'W')ell, the difference in America is that it's always been voluntary. Don't want to get searched, don't go to the airport. Don't want your life controlled by corporate fascism, don't work for a large corporation. In most any society, you have the ability to live relatively free. Poor, but free at least.