Tuesday 20 May 2008

The not so hidden persuaders

Is liberal democracy really that democratic ? Is the divide between politics and economics really that wide ? We are surrounded by commercial advertising exhorting us to buy. Under New Labour advertising techniques, developed by commercial advertising, has become the medium through which political communication is conducted. Buy our politics, they are the best the market can offer. An increasingly unconvincing claim for the Labour Party these days.

The 'free market' system is not so free when your ears and eyes are filled with insistent demands to buy this and that. After a while, it begins to smack of totalitarianism. The same advert. is repeated over and over again. And when the depressingly frequent commercial breaks come around, the volume of the TV is raised. This is not information giving, but rather an attempt at brain washing. The insidious underlying meta-communication is that the consumer society is the good society. Vote retail therapy. It really isn't necessary for you to think for yourself, we'll do it for you, at a price. 

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