Herbert Marcuse: The One-Dimensional Man (tags)
"Manipulation of needs" is one of the control instruments. Rulers change needs through manipulation. False needs are needs imposed from above like production and consumption of useless things. The need for freedom no longer exists in developed capitalist countries.
Re-visiting Uncle Ted & A Few FC Targets (tags)
Revisiting writings of Ted K, whether we disagree with his actions or not is irrelevant. The point is there are lessons to be learned in strategy and where the collective eco-activist movement is heading.
Development Theory: Ivan Illich (tags)
Education is the great transformer (J.K. Galbraith). Ivan Illich was a life-giving iconoclast and philosopher who criticized modern industrial society as a threat to autonomy. Through resistance and solidarity, we can begin again.
The social construction of consciousness (tags)
This paper gives a theoretical discussion of the source and methodology of the social construction of consciousness. The first section introduces the piece. The second establishes the relationship between "interests" and "consciousness." The third describes growing inequality in the US. The fourth develops the structural source of consciousness. The fifth details the interlocking nature of politics and economy in the US. The sixth section discusses how our consciousness can be constructed. The final section offers some solutions.