Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Rachel Maddow - Corporate cash sways voters on GMO foods

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Rachel Maddow - Corporate cash sways voters on GMO foods

From the Rachel Maddow show on MSNBC TV network via YouTube.

I was shocked by the result of Initiative 522 in my state of Washington. I expected that the multinational corporations would put big money in the campaign, and this became evident by the political ads featuring mostly actors posing as farmers and experts to state authoritatively that labeling foods as to their genetically modified ingredient content would raise food prices, and other such ridiculous nonsense. However, judging by the number of ads promoting a "yes" on the initiative, which I judged to be adequate, I really felt that it would pass. After all, this issue cuts across all classes of people.

But, as you can see, I-522 failed--hence my state of shock and subsequent state of depression. Given that the issue is always given overwhelming support in public opinion polls, such TV campaigns by transnational corporations is obviously extremely effective in influencing people to vote against their own desires and interests. Hence, I've concluded that such voting results are really a measure of gullibility of ordinary people. And, I have to conclude that my fellow Americans are still, indeed, highly gullible even after all the banking scandals we've experienced.

Perhaps more importantly, it is an excellent illustration of the power of the One Percent ruling class to control the capitalist electoral system. (Please ignore Madow's usual framing of the issue as Democrats versus Republicans.) What most people fail to realize is that they fund everything of importance in society and thus control everything of importance: education, health, welfare, food, media, and all branches of government.