no longer can we imagine pure platonic forms. nothing is pure. nothing is separate. nothing is autonomous. never can the representation be removed from what it represents, that is, never can a representation be prevented from affecting what it represents. the act of representation changes that which it represents. and thus, hper-real representation attempts to include and anticipate its own effect. but despite the many gyrations and meta-games a representation can never include its self nor its effect. to include the effect in the definition is to destroy definition and representation. no longer does representation exist in a space separate from the real.
we are no longer interested in representations but in effects, chain reactions, attractors, half-life. in prosthetics and their possibilities for extensions of the self. in prosthetics and their possibilities for extensions of multiple selves, of groups of selves, of schizophrenias, communities. no more metaphors. now we have virtualities, hidden undercurrents, sub-cyber information power links. we have vehicles and shelters within information, within the power structure.
we have fascist regimes. corporations that need power to further their cause. fascist regimes that gain power from your desire for their product, their service, their prosthetic which will allow you to extend, enhance, protect and preserve your self. by allowing further definition of your identity through the brands and products you consume. this is a much more subtle fascism. one that hides behind governments. pretends that governments are still in power, that democracy is alive and well because of your freedom to choose.
where the power structure lies is not in what you choose, but in the choices that have been presented to you. the things not listed on the menu are quickly dismissed as non-choices, choices already weeded out by supply and demand. ‘democratic choices’ which have already been made. these are the choices we must look at. choices like non-ownership, community ownership, public ownership, elective ownership, pulsating ownership, revolving ownership….
corporate fascism always presents itself in the form of one of the variety of products it is offering or some horrible alternative. an either/or. what i am questioning is the democracy part of democratic capitalism. when companies have more money than entire countries, might it be reasonable to question who is in control? should not these companies be held to much tighter standards and disclosures than even government because they are not a representation of the people.
deregulation of industries is touted as allowing true competition. but industry deregulation is simply a symptom of corporations more powerful than governments. deregulation allows corporations to operate on a scale larger than governments. mega-conglomerates of media and financial institutions are necessary in order to preserve us interests through the extension of corporate power based in the us. remember that the cold war was an economic war, the spoils of which are economic colonization. deregulation allows for the massive deployment of propaganda and products on an international scale. yeah, you can send a couple hand-crafted wooden chairs to russia through your web page but who would want them. they could make those for themselves. the products and services which makes the united states a superpower are the products and services which provide a capital investment which no one else can match. this is the reason for deregulation, to ensure unmatched corporate capital bases. the united states is the world bank. brokering investments and taking a cut through the use of unmatched funds. we no longer need a weapons war to drain economies of their wealth. american interests are strong enough worldwide to provide the backbone of economic infrastructure. what are the essential industries of an american based corporate fascism? media and finance. industries which have both been heavily deregulated since the end of the cold war. the government won the cold war through the strength and extension of a global american economy. but government colonization is frowned upon these days. luckily, and not by chance, it is also unnecessary for continued american colonization. the institutions which the government relied upon for its wealth during the cold war are now claiming the power which they gave. its kind of like what the united states always does, give weapons to the guys they believe will further their interest and then crush them when they turn on the us because they finally figure out the us was only using them to further american interests. but the government can not continue the expansion of an economic warfare without weapons. the government has met its ‘moral’ (financial) limit. colonial expansion is now afforded to corporations under the banner of free trade.
free trade. as i said, corporate fascists always present the options as either/or. either free trade or horrible protectionism. “global captilasm is inevitable and this is good because democracy will follow.” is this true? what are the choices which are not being presented to us? did we all lose the cold war? (fooled for the last time by the either/or). capitalism is based on growth, what happens when it has fully extended itself? will this ever happen? can governments control corporations larger than themselves? can people control corporations through their buying power IF they are informed? how could people be informed if the media is what we need to be informed of? is a desire for information simply the extension of an information economy? is not an information economy based on massive data mines financed by corporate capital? the information which have-nots possess is the information on their self – their buying habits, their desires, their sizes and health, their protests and weaknesses, their recorded entity, their objectification with which they can be limited. their bank account. we are consumers eagerly lined up for personalization, security, and prosthetics so that we may be strip mined of our information, tied to our reification and therefore bankrupt.