Pilger: War by media a triumph of propaganda

John Pilger writes that War by media a triumph of propaganda.

It’s clear to me that the main reason Assange has attracted such venom, spite and jealously is that WikiLeaks tore down the facade of a corrupt political elite held aloft by journalists. In heralding an extraordinary era of disclosure, Assange made enemies by illuminating and shaming the media’s gatekeepers, not least on the newspaper that published and appropriated his great scoop. He became not only a target, but a golden goose.

Emphasis Mine

Yet, as Pilger acknowledges, the people marched in the largest ant-war demonstration, so far, back in February 2003. But, still Iraq was invaded and the whole mess that gave rise to ISIS (or ISIL) started.

People are not willing to question the system. They still want to work within the system. Until that fundamental belief is changed, all the truth-telling and facts are not going change how events unfold.

The single, brilliant piece of Capitalist propaganda is TINA (There Is No Alternative). This is why Venezuela, Cuba, Eucador, Wikileaks, Snowden, etc. are continually vilified. It is this piece of propaganda that unlies all others.

At the end of the day, if the ruling class refuses to move on a matter, what are the people going to do about? Vote for a different faction of the ruling class?

When the system is the problem, supporting a different faction of the ruling class doees not solve the fundamental problem.

But as Trotsky wrote, the natural end of a system occurs when all avenues of using the system have been explored, and the system is still found to be wanting.

Unfortunately, the natural end of Capitalism is Barbarism. It occurs when the self-centredness triumphs as small closely-knit communities. Since Capitalism is a far more productive system than Barbarism, the consequent economic collapse will lead to a smaller population with a shorter life expectancy.

This reduction in the general health that accompanies the reversion of a superior economic system to that of an inferior one, was best demonstrated in Russia and Eastern Europe when Socialism was replaced by Capitalism.

At this stage of the revolution, we can change one person's mind at a time. It is the guerallia form of revolution-building. There are no heroic gestures at this stage.

Even with Syriza and Podemos, they are still working within the system. They want to get the system to work for the poor, rather than the rich. This is a necessary action of getting people involved to start questioning how the system operates.

However, we need people to start questioning why the system exists at all.