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The Forum > Article Comments > From the Nanny State to the Bully State > Comments

From the Nanny State to the Bully State : Comments

By Patrick Basham, published 24/5/2010

Evidence-light, photo-op policymaking often makes for good media coverage but it rarely makes for good public health.

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The trouble is, is that corporations now rule the world, and almost everything that we do, and think, and feel, is in one way or another the result of corporate propaganda.

Especially what we put in our mouths. Most of the packaged "foods" that are available in your supermarket are essentially containers of toxic disease causing chemicals.

We are propagandized 24/7 by corporate advertising to be compliant consumers. The propaganda begins from the moment we are born, or the moment we are placed in front of a TV set, and thus exposed to the advertisements.

From then on the baby/toddler/infant/child/teenager/adult lives in a 24/7 sea of corporate advertising and LOGOS.

I SHOP THEREFORE I AM is the dominant zeitgeist of our times.

Of course anyone can find the necessary information on the internet so as to be able to exercise discriminative intelligence re how one lives in the world.

But the only collective force powerful enough to counter this corporate dominance are the various government regulatory agencies. But in the USA (in particular) these agencies are quite often captured by corporate interests. And indeed during the Bush "administration" many consumer, environmental, and workplace safety regulations were abolished.

This marvelous book describes how the 24/7 propaganda process works.

http://www.uow.edu.au/~sharonb/kiddy.html

Plus this outfit always tells the unvarnished dreadful truth re the situation of the fantasy world created by corporations.

http://www.adbusters.org

Plus: http://www.kunstler.com

Re the "invisible hand" worshiped by so called libertarians.

http://www.pcdf.org/corprule/betrayal.htm

And another possible antidote to the corporate double-speak

http://www.blessedunrest.com
Posted by Ho Hum, Monday, 24 May 2010 11:26:35 AM
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The liberal thinkers have got the cart before the horse - as frequently happens with those of a forceful liberal bent. The simple solution for them is to eliminate socialized medicine. Perhaps allow a nontaxed portion of peoples income to be set aside for medical items or to purchase health insurance.

This would remove the nabobs of the nanny state from the equation and let the individuals exercise their own free will to kill themselves any way they please.

It would also significantly reduce the cost of government as all the thousands of government health helpers are removed from the payroll.
Posted by Bruce, Monday, 24 May 2010 11:40:46 AM
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Why mention this now, Patrick, rubbing salt into our wounds, I've already run out of tears. Now you are saying that it must get even worse before a revolution can make it any better...

One point that I actually agree with in the Nuffield report:

* Individuals have a clear responsibility to refrain from lifestyle decisions that lead to disease and, consequently, treatment can be denied to those who refuse to change their behaviour.

Yay, government, we don't want your treatments, just get out of our lives, the sooner the better!

Bruce was a little more optimistic though: "It would also significantly reduce the cost of government as all the thousands of government health helpers are removed from the payroll", but can't you get it Bruce, this is exactly why they have the system in the first place, not for our benefit of course, but to keep those parasites on the government payroll.

As for the "free will to kill themselves any way they please", at least once we are dead nobody can get us, or force their treatments on us any longer!
Posted by Yuyutsu, Monday, 24 May 2010 1:50:57 PM
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"As the noughties drew to a close, it was clear that state-sponsored lifestyle hectoring was out; state-sponsored coercion was in. The Nanny State had become the Bully State."

AYYYYmen to that.. (as in.. the truth of it)

I recall a conversation I had with a local Marxist. Khalid is his name. He is the leader/coordinator of Socialist Alternative in Melbourne.

The conversation was quite cordial and we discussed the idea of "What is the problem.. human nature or the political system"

I suggested that "fix the people and you fix the 'system'".. and I said people want to be free.. explore their own future etc..
How could you expect people to have a desire to 'give to the needy' unless they want to?

His reply was quite chilling "But..if we control every aspect of peoples lives, then it can happen"

*ouch*
ie...he was referring to the Marxist "Bully State".
Marcuse would call it 'a Truly Tolerant' State, where all dissent is repressed.

We need to know what ideology is driving such things as the Nuffied Report.

Wake up folks.. "utopia" is almost here.
Posted by ALGOREisRICH, Tuesday, 25 May 2010 5:32:53 AM
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"But..if we control every aspect of peoples lives, then it can happen"
ALGOREisRICH,
They're controlling every aspect of our lives now, so why doesn't it happen ?
You've got to be cruel to be kind rings more true nowadays than ever.
Posted by individual, Tuesday, 25 May 2010 7:50:29 AM
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Thank you for the http://www.adbusters.org/ link Ho Hum. I really enjoyed the video about the Re-Generation of youth culture found if you scroll down the page.

It was a really positive slant on todays youth culture, and I really hope the positive feeling I got from it, grows in todays generation

The article itself was both poignant and thought provoking I thought.
Posted by thinker 2, Tuesday, 25 May 2010 8:17:29 PM
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