Just finished reading Chris Hedges' Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle. It's a smaller book than its title would suggest. It also stirs up anger: I had to take breaks from reading (especially after the chapter exposing the porn industry). Not a page-turner, a mind-turner. Hedges is a journalist who's written from fiery centers in Gaza, Eastern Europe, and Central America.
I'm writing here because Empire of Illusion reveals what my 1968 people called "the system" and what other more current writers call "corporatocracy." We weren't sure what the system was; we felt it. A young reader said, of Riders, "When they talk about The System I think of The Matrix."
Hedges writes, "Power no longer lies with the citizens of the United States, who, with ratios of 100 to 1, pleaded with their representatives in Washington not to loot the national treasury to bail out Wall Street investment firms. Power lies with the corporations. These corporations, not we, pick who runs for president, Congress, judgships, and most state legislatures." This is a conclusion at the end of many pages of information. Does it still seem too general? I think so.
I'll keep the book for its bibliography, for its researched details on Halliberton, NAFTA, Andover, and many other works of "the ruling class" -- another term of my 1968 characters.
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