Comments | ahhpeanutbutter: The Idea of Co-Optation

ahhpeanutbutter

The Idea of Co-Optation

Jan 17, 2006 15:40

...Their rebellion was felt to be an especially potent threat to capitalism, which relied upon an army of docile, pacified workers, willing to submit themselves to the soul-destroying discipline of the machine. And yet "the system" seemed to take this form of rebellion in stride. This lack of discernable impact presented a serious threat to the ( Read more... )

Comments 5

crazylikezaxon January 18 2006, 03:55:14 UTC

good stuff. i am reading Brave New World right now and i am also going to be studying that era in my class: Looking Backward-20th century American History.

ahhpeanutbutter January 18 2006, 07:37:47 UTC

Co-incidentally "Brave New World" is mentioned in the book that I am quoting. Apparantly it was very influential in the formulation of the idea that society today is an authoritarian system of mass control, an idea this book criticzes.

crazylikezaxon January 18 2006, 08:09:14 UTC

i think i was most inspired by doctor nick forest, of clark, when he made a rational note that the plurality of corporations that utilize unfair working practices, in the third world, far out weigh the number of corporations that don't. he basically set me on the path to understanding that third world products are almost unavoidable to the consumer. You also pointed out to me that the corporations that utilize third world economies as places of cheap labor do so at the maintenance of the governments that are callous enough to allow abuses to their own working class citizens. I point out, from my studies, that almost every aspect of our modern lives is built on the backs of workers the world over and that the system of privilege is so entrenched into the fabric of our economy and government that escaping it, in one fell swoop, is nearly impossible. our government will do what it takes to protect the industries that exploit the weak, with military force i might add ( ... )

dennysfan982644 January 18 2006, 04:04:37 UTC

Yeah. This is pretty intriguing. The review you posted earlier made it sound like a lot of half-truth and over-generalizing. But this passage compels me to my local library. I've heard you can find it there.

hot sauce/ black panthers crazylikezaxon January 18 2006, 15:44:37 UTC

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0718051burn1.html
this is also a modern article that holds water in relation to your citation.