April post #3

In "Manufacturing consent" Chomsky says "It is the primary function of the mass media in the united states to mobilize public support for the government and the special interests which dominate the private sector". In an interview with Ross Reynolds he expands saying if one wishes to understand society, any society, the first place to look is who makes decisions that determine the way society functions." The relatively concentrated power over society, government and the economy, lie in the hands of a small network of corporations. In order to maintain a facade of universal democracy, they cultivate ideas such as the american dream, that freedom is only possible through capitalism, and the concept of a "middle" class. This also serves to manufacture the consent of the governed (hence the name of the book). I find this to serve as a foundation for an understanding of propaganda in the modern age, however the book has received criticism by some as a hyperfocus on corporations as the control of media, though I would disagree. The book is meant to expose them as in part a major player in the control of society, our culture is founded to benefit large companies, but nobody thinks about it like that.