Consumer economy you say

[steve74baywin]

I finished viewing part three.
Some thoughts come to mind, many times in this series people, elites, whatever you want to call them are attempting to figure out what to do with the masses.
Several times the statement is made that in this country they worried more about over producing and people having all they needed. Which to me would mean they didn't think the people would buy as much or had no need to labor as much. This leads to them wanting to make the masses bigger consumers.
These things make me think of something. A while back when thinking of how things would evolve naturally, a community doing work to achieve what they want, I thought of this. If the people found they achieved all they wanted and discovered 10% of people didn't even get a chance to labor that week, they would maybe start the next week working less hours each day, maybe they would soon discover 30 hours a week was all that was needed instead of 40. I also think of this when I hear presidents say they will create more jobs. A comment like that seems to only fit in a controlled society, one where someone has a greater goal and will find a use for all people, keep all people busy to achieve this goal. In a society or community created by the people, if what they achieved could be accomplished with less time, perhaps that is what they would do, work less.
What I am doing I guess is connecting something brought up in this series with something I thought about before. The fact those running things noticed that we might actually be able to produce things so easily now that we might get all our work done sooner than the predetermined work week. Those who think they are in charge of us couldn't have that, they needed to find a way to keep us working. Too bad we aren't in charge of this stuff ourselves on a smaller more local level. If we worked smart and developed and used technology right, we could be down to a 20 hour work week. But when some other entity uses us to build there dream, our work is never done. The pharaoh always wants another pyramid.

[turk]

Who or what is that "other entity"? Is it a secret? The Bohemian Grove? The Illuminati? The Bilderberger Group? The Koch Bros.? Do they all get together? Even George Soros?
Are they watching you right now?

[ruckman101]

American Legislative Exchange Council, and no, I don't believe Soros is a member.

http://www.alec.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home



neal

[turk]

So then it started in the seventies. Yeah, I remember when Double J jumped off the Queens Bridge for nothing.

[ruckman101]

I have no clue what you mean there turk. "It"?


neal

[turk]

ALEC (they started more than 30 years ago according to the link)

[ruckman101]

Yes in 1973.

I still have no clue what your are trying say as to the point you are trying to make, imply, insinuate, suggest, communicate, and I have no idea what you might be referencing re: "Double J jumping off the Queens Bridge for nothing", not knowing anything about Double J, Queens Bridge, jumping, nothing. Perhaps you could explain.


neal

[steve74baywin]

I never heard of the group (ALEC) before. When reading their history it sounds good.

[turk]

Ever see the film Saturday Night Fever? Favorite of mine. Encapsulates an era in American pop culture, so consumerism too. So I jest. Double J was the kid in the platform shoes apparently trying to be a free individual. He got his girlfriend pregnant, and had personal conflicts about his Roman Catholic upbringing. Anyway, obscure I guess, but if ALEC is behind it all, well...

[ruckman101]

I generally try to avoid the poppest of pop culture, and have never seen Saturday Night Fever in it's entirety. Don't care for disco, never have, still don't. Don't care for Travolta, never have, still don't.

Thanks for the explanation.

But please don't put words in my mouth. I'm pretty sure I never made the statement "if ALEC is behind it all". I cited ALEC in response to your question asking "...is there someone, or some entity, behind a massive effort to control everyone?", and "Who or what is that "other entity"? Is it a secret? The Bohemian Grove? The Illuminati? The Bilderberger Group? The Koch Bros.? Do they all get together? Even George Soros?" ALEC's members are the corporate elite of this nation working for their own best interests at the expense of the great unwashed masses.

The organization is very busy engineering/manufacturing consent for their agenda.

Our current fiscal crisis has often been compared to the 1929 market crash that Roosevelt responded to with the "New Deal", bailing out the people. This time we bailed out the corporations.


neal

[turk]

I ain't puttin words in your mouth. I didn't quote you improperly. I didn't even quote you. You should watch a great film like that regardless of personal taste, if you want to understand American Pop Culture. Yeah, "DISCO SUCKS". That's another pop culture phenomenon from the late seventies, early eighties here in Chicago. Comiskey Park. Blowing up disco records with Steve Dahl. Anyway, it's all consumer driven. I think it started before ALEC was ever conceived. That's my opinion. ALEC is only a by-product of "it", and I don't see the (ALEC) driving. I think ALEC is, in some way, a natural response of thinking people to entrenched consumer/popular culture, not more. Consumer culture dwarfs ALEC. So does popular.
ALEC can only recoup some of consumer culture under its ideology. Most of it was already underway full-throttle by the 1920s. If ALEC is more concerned with bailing out corporations than the masses it is probably more ideological than pragmatic. I dunno. Politically, the ideology of "think not of what your country can do for you, rather what you can do for your country", (JFK), resonates with a lot of immigrants to this country, who came from totalitarian governments in the decades after WW2. It applies to corporations too, in my opinion. So, we're not that opposed ideologically as you might think.

[ruckman101]

I don't think you are grasping what ALEC does and who it's membership is. ALEC represents the interests of the elite at the expense of the masses. Have you watched part one of the documentary that opened this thread? From what I can tell you haven't, and are jumping to massive assumptions based on ignorance of the issues being discussed.

[turk]

I started to watch it. I didn't finish. So, if ALEC, who steve74baywin never heard of before is the culprit of this , expand on that note with some of your own thoughts.

[ruckman101]

What, again? The organization is very secretive. Professor Cronan outing it's connections to Scott Walker brought the ire of the Wisconsin Republican party to bear on him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_L ... ge_Council

ALEC is responsible for the raft of attack legislation on this country in order to silence all voices but those of corporations. The propaganda bit is fully utilized to manufacture/engineer consent. The co-opted tea party is their voice.


neal

[turk]

Here, watch this and keep it real. We're discussing consumerism. This is crushertitty, hands down. It's working class. It's lumpen. Sorry you don't get it. ALEC was not even influential at this time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvQ8sUbgA2c