Power Systems

1. US Imperialism: Founded on Settler Colonialism, Evolved Globally

Settler colonialism, which is what this is, is by far the worst kind of imperialism, because it gets rid of the native population.

Imperialism's deep roots. The United States was established as an empire, characterized by settler colonialism that aimed to eliminate the native population, a process the Founding Fathers explicitly described. This differs from other forms of imperialism that primarily exploit local populations. The "saltwater fallacy" often obscures this history, defining imperialism only when crossing oceans, ignoring the brutal expansion across the continent.

Expansion continued abroad. Once continental expansion reached its limits, U.S. imperialism immediately extended overseas, notably in 1898 with the conquest of Cuba (preventing its self-liberation), the theft of Hawaii, and the invasion of the Philippines, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths and establishing a lasting neocolonial structure. This expansion solidified the U.S. as a global power, a position dramatically amplified after World War II when it held half the world's wealth.

Modern forms persist. While the U.S. share of global wealth has stabilized since 1970, its imperial policies continue, adapting to a more multipolar world. Despite talk of decline, the U.S. maintains military dominance and reacts forcefully to challenges, such as Latin America's recent moves toward integration and independence, by increasing military presence and training local officers to counter "radical populism." Geostrategic interests, like controlling energy resources and pipeline routes, also drive interventions in regions like Afghanistan.

2. Power Systems Control Through Propaganda and "Mental Slavery"

If you can trap people into not noticing, let alone questioning, crucial doctrines, they’re enslaved.

Propaganda's historical role. Power systems have always sought to induce passivity and obedience, historically through reverence for kings, priests, and religious authorities. In modern democratic societies, where force is harder to apply, control shifts to managing attitudes and beliefs, a strategy consciously developed about a century ago by the public relations industry. This aims to divert attention and fabricate consumers, concentrating focus on superficial matters.

Sophisticated indoctrination. Modern propaganda systems, unlike overt totalitarian methods, operate through unstated presuppositions and framing, making them harder to recognize and resist. This is evident in political campaigns, which function as marketing extravaganzas, and in media discourse that often presents a narrow range of acceptable views. The goal is to ensure the public accepts the established framework without critical inquiry.

Manufacturing consent. This system fosters a sense of helplessness and atomization, preventing people from recognizing their collective power. It shapes public opinion on issues like welfare, framing support for the needy negatively while maintaining support for the underlying actions. This deliberate manipulation of perception is crucial for maintaining the dominance of concentrated private power and preventing social solidarity.

3. Global Uprisings Challenge Dictatorships and Neoliberalism

It’s a triple revolt.

Multiple layers of rebellion. The "Arab Spring" represents a complex uprising against three interconnected forces: Western-backed dictatorships, the harsh effects of neoliberal economic policies, and military occupation (often overlooked in discussions of Western Sahara and Palestine). These revolts mirror similar struggles seen globally, particularly in Latin America, which has recently broken free from both political dictatorship and neoliberal economics.

Neoliberalism's harsh impact. Decades of neoliberal policies have consistently led to a narrow concentration of wealth at the top, stagnation or decline for the majority, deregulation, and recurring financial crises. These policies, often praised by international financial institutions even in the face of impending collapse (as seen in Egypt), require harsh regimes to be imposed and maintained, sparking widespread discontent among populations bearing the brunt of their effects.

Selective Western response. Western powers react selectively to these uprisings, supporting compliant dictators until the last possible moment and then attempting to restore the old order under a new guise. Unreliable dictators, like Gadhafi, face intervention under pretexts that quickly shift to regime change, often disregarding international law and regional calls for diplomacy. This selective vigilantism prioritizes control over genuine democratic aspirations, especially in oil-rich regions.

4. Labor Movements are Essential for Successful Resistance

Unless the labor movement is revitalized and becomes a core part of the movement, I don’t think it’s going to get very far.

Labor's historical power. Historically, labor movements have been crucial institutions of solidarity and drivers of social change. In the U.S., the militant labor organizing of the 1930s, including sit-down strikes, was instrumental in pushing through New Deal reforms. Unions provided a framework for collective action and mutual support, fostering a sense of shared interest among working people.

Targeted for destruction. Concentrated private power bitterly opposes unions, viewing them as a threat to their domination and control. The U.S. has a particularly brutal labor history, with constant efforts to crush unions through state policy, propaganda, and legal barriers. This has led to a dramatic decline in private-sector unionization, weakening the collective bargaining power of workers and contributing to wage stagnation and declining benefits.

Revitalization is key. The success of recent uprisings, like those in Tunisia and Egypt, correlates strongly with the participation of organized labor. These movements demonstrate that when labor joins the struggle, it can significantly amplify the pressure for change and achieve concrete gains, such as independent unions and greater freedoms. For current movements like Occupy to achieve lasting impact, rebuilding and integrating the labor movement is seen as a necessary step, despite the challenges.

5. Concentrated Power Undermines Genuine Democracy

Hatred of democracy is so deeply embedded in the doctrinal system that you don’t think of the government as your instrument.

Founding Fathers' concerns. The design of the U.S. constitutional system, as envisioned by figures like James Madison, aimed to mitigate the "threat" of democracy by placing power in the hands of the wealthy elite (the Senate) to protect property rights from the majority poor. This inherent tension between popular power and elite control has persisted throughout U.S. history, adapting its forms but retaining its core objective: preventing the public from using their collective power to challenge concentrated wealth.

Manufacturing consent for control. The propaganda system actively fosters contempt for government, portraying it as an alien force rather than an instrument of the people. This is evident in public attitudes towards taxes (seen as theft, not collective investment) and government programs (demonized despite popular support for their functions). This manufactured distrust serves to marginalize the public and prevent them from engaging in democratic processes to effect meaningful change.

Democracy as a facade. While the U.S. professes a "transcendent purpose" of promoting freedom and democracy abroad, the historical record reveals a consistent pattern of supporting democracy only when it aligns with strategic and economic interests. This "schizophrenia," as some scholars term it, is not a pathology but a rational function of imperial power, where "stability" means conformity to U.S. orders, and independent political movements, including political Islam, are viewed with suspicion.

6. Education: A Tool for Indoctrination or Liberation?

Education should be like laying out a string that the student follows in his own way.

Two visions of education. Historically, there have been competing views on the purpose of mass education. One, akin to "pouring water into a bucket," aims to inculcate obedience, subordination, and acceptance of authority, preparing individuals to follow orders. The other, championed by classical liberals like Wilhelm von Humboldt and educators like John Dewey, sees education as laying out a "string" for students to explore independently, fostering creativity, critical thinking, and the ability to "learn how to discover."

Elite fear of independence. Business elites have historically supported mass education, partly out of fear that an uneducated populace might challenge their power ("educate them to keep them from our throats"). However, they prefer an education system that trains for conformity, not independence, as the latter could lead people to question authority and the existing power structures. This tension fuels ongoing battles over educational policy.

Current assault on public education. Contemporary policies, such as No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, push for standardized testing and control over teachers, limiting independent exploration and creativity. This aligns with a broader effort to undermine and privatize public education, breaking down social solidarity and replacing it with a two-tiered system serving the privileged. Rising tuition costs and student debt further burden and control the population, hindering independent thought and action.

7. Environmental Destruction Driven by Short-Term Profit

That it must be destroyed is close to an institutional imperative.

Profit over survival. The core goal of current institutions is to maximize short-term profit and power, a dynamic that leads almost directly to environmental destruction. Despite dire warnings from scientists and even conservative agencies like the International Energy Association about reaching irreversible tipping points, the pursuit of fossil fuels continues unabated, celebrated by parts of the business press.

Propaganda fuels denial. A massive propaganda campaign, openly modeled on successful efforts like undermining healthcare reform, actively works to sow doubt about climate change and its severity. This campaign has significantly reduced public concern in the U.S., leaving the population susceptible to policies that dismantle environmental regulations and prioritize economic growth over ecological survival, even when it means a "death sentence for the species."

Ignoring the long term. The focus on immediate gain means long-term consequences are disregarded. Celebrating new techniques like fracking for energy independence ignores the catastrophic global environmental impact of burning these fuels. This institutional imperative for short-term profit, while potentially leading to long-term collapse, persists because decision-makers can outsource production and find new sources of cheap labor, delaying the reckoning for themselves while externalizing the costs onto the planet and future generations.

8. US Foreign Policy: Prioritizing Control, Not Democracy

The belief in that entitlement continues right to the present.

Entitlement to unilateral force. U.S. foreign policy operates under the deeply ingrained principle that the United States is entitled to use unilateral force to ensure access to key markets, energy supplies, and strategic resources. This doctrine, explicitly stated by figures like Adolf Berle and the Clinton administration, is considered a fundamental right, making discussions of international law or war crimes "amazingly naive" within the mainstream intellectual culture.

Selective application of principles. This entitlement leads to a selective application of international norms. While condemning enemies for "destabilizing" regions by expanding influence, the U.S. defines its own invasions and destruction as "stabilization." Similarly, human rights violations are highlighted in enemy states but downplayed or ignored in allied states, particularly those crucial for maintaining control over resources or strategic locations, like Saudi Arabia or Bahrain.

Isolation on key issues. Despite its power, the U.S. faces increasing isolation on key global issues, as seen in Latin America's push for independence and its rejection of U.S. positions on Cuba and drug policy. The capacity to implement its policies has declined since the post-WWII peak, but the underlying principles of control and entitlement remain, leading to frustration and a sense of "loss" when other countries assert their independence.

9. Historical Amnesia Perpetuates State Crimes

Historical amnesia is a dangerous phenomenon, not only because it undermines moral and intellectual integrity, but also because it lays the groundwork for crimes that still lie ahead.

Forgetting past atrocities. A pervasive historical amnesia allows societies to ignore or distort their past crimes, preventing accountability and paving the way for their repetition. Forgetting events like the U.S. invasion of South Vietnam or support for brutal dictators and atrocities abroad means there is no impediment to continuing similar actions in the present.

Selective memory and condemnation. The U.S. intellectual culture often exhibits a striking double standard, condemning human rights abuses and treatment of dissidents in enemy states while ignoring or downplaying far worse actions in its own domains or those of its allies. This selective memory reinforces the narrative of inherent U.S. benevolence and prevents critical self-reflection on the nature of state power and its abuses.

Preventing public knowledge. Governments actively work to keep the public ignorant of actions that contradict the official narrative, often classifying documents not for genuine security reasons but to prevent scrutiny of policy decisions. Exposures like WikiLeaks, which reveal government knowledge of allied abuses or the true motivations behind policies, are met with hostility because they compromise the government's security from its own population.

10. Overcoming Fear and Building Sustained Resistance

What Arundhati said about not going home is the crucial part.

Fear as a tool of control. Power systems rely on fear to maintain control, making it costly for individuals to oppose authority. This fear is understandable, especially in societies with histories of repression or where civil liberties are being eroded, as seen with measures like indefinite detention or the expansion of "material support" laws to include conversation.

Continuity over quick wins. Effective resistance requires continuity and a long-term perspective, understanding that change is a marathon, not a sprint. Movements that expect immediate victory and disband when it doesn't materialize are easily defeated. The ability to persist, learn from setbacks, and continue organizing, even when facing repression or disillusionment, is crucial for building lasting power.

Building popular support. Overcoming repression and denigration requires building broad popular support. Tactics like occupying public space can be effective for raising awareness and creating community, but they must evolve and connect with other sectors of society, such as labor and anti-foreclosure movements, to build a sustained force capable of challenging concentrated power.

11. Atomization and Sectarianism Weaken Social Movements

That atomization is a technique of control and marginalization.

Breaking social bonds. Concentrated power actively seeks to atomize society, breaking down "secondary associations" like unions or community groups where people interact, formulate ideas, and learn to cooperate. This isolation makes individuals feel helpless and easier to control, preventing the formation of collective power capable of challenging the status quo.

Sectarianism's destructive impact. Internal divisions and sectarianism within social movements can be highly destructive, diverting energy into internal conflicts and alienating potential allies. Historically, this has crippled movements, sometimes exacerbated by state efforts like COINTELPRO, but often stemming from internal tendencies towards ideological purity or counterproductive tactics.

Need for broad unity. Effective movements require overcoming atomization by building real communities and fostering interaction. They also need to resist sectarian tendencies by embracing a diversity of opinions and approaches within a common framework of challenging illegitimate authority. Building a broad base of support across different interests is essential for sustained struggle against powerful, unified elites.

12. Worker Control Offers a Path Beyond State Capitalism

Do we want to have a system in which some people give orders and others take them?

Questioning illegitimate authority. The current system, often termed state capitalism, is based on production for profit and a hierarchy where a few give orders and the majority take them. This structure, while adaptable, is inherently problematic and leads to long-term issues like overproduction and inequality. A fundamental question is whether this hierarchical system is desirable, or if society should move towards more democratic control.

Alternative models exist. While a full transition to "socialism" may not be a feasible short-term goal due to lack of popular base, alternative models within the existing system offer potential paths forward. Worker-owned enterprises and community-managed initiatives, like the Mondragon cooperative, demonstrate that economic activity can be organized based on stakeholder interests rather than solely maximizing shareholder profit.

Seeds of the future. These alternative models, though operating within a capitalist framework, can serve as "seeds of the future," building democratic structures and fostering solidarity at the workplace and community level. Advocating for policies that support worker ownership and community control challenges the fundamental principle that decision-making power should reside solely with concentrated private capital, moving towards a more just and democratic economy.

Last updated: June 9, 2025