I have a lot of friends who are either centrists or on the right who are also very anti-government or government critical in their own way, and it bleeds into some conspiratorial thinking. One of the most difficult things when discussing politics with these people is separating corporate greed and government complicity. Everything from federal reserve policy to rail safety protocol. It’s a constant struggle to remind people that the government is almost entirely beholden to corporate interest. In most cases, there is no “machine” or elitist hegemony behind the government pulling the strings. Our capitalist society is more often directed by the invisible hand of the corporatocracy. The system is legion, and very few individuals actually have goals beyond the next few quarters.
That’s often the most frustrating thing about arguing with conservatives and libertarians in my circles, at least with regards to systems of power and economic policy. They believe that since the economic powers that be seem to be making their own economic environment worse (and so threatening their own success decades down the line) that there must be some other power pulling the strings… but it’s really just shortsighted greed and economic mob mentality at every level.
That’s not to say that there aren’t warhawks and “law and order” zealots making our country a more dangerous place, and politicians pushing dangerous identity wars to suppress the labor class and garner votes. That’s all certainly happening. I just don’t believe there’s any grand plan in the minds of most powerful people beyond what they can obtain in the next political cycle or four fiscal quarters.
I have a lot of friends who are either centrists or on the right who are also very anti-government or government critical in their own way, and it bleeds into some conspiratorial thinking. One of the most difficult things when discussing politics with these people is separating corporate greed and government complicity. Everything from federal reserve policy to rail safety protocol. It’s a constant struggle to remind people that the government is almost entirely beholden to corporate interest. In most cases, there is no “machine” or elitist hegemony behind the government pulling the strings. Our capitalist society is more often directed by the invisible hand of the corporatocracy. The system is legion, and very few individuals actually have goals beyond the next few quarters.
That’s often the most frustrating thing about arguing with conservatives and libertarians in my circles, at least with regards to systems of power and economic policy. They believe that since the economic powers that be seem to be making their own economic environment worse (and so threatening their own success decades down the line) that there must be some other power pulling the strings… but it’s really just shortsighted greed and economic mob mentality at every level.
That’s not to say that there aren’t warhawks and “law and order” zealots making our country a more dangerous place, and politicians pushing dangerous identity wars to suppress the labor class and garner votes. That’s all certainly happening. I just don’t believe there’s any grand plan in the minds of most powerful people beyond what they can obtain in the next political cycle or four fiscal quarters.