Oops’ I Forgot About Corporatism

The corporate social media giants just fired a shot that ripped right through the Bill of Rights. But here’s the catch, private companies are not under the demands of the Constitution. In other words “damn the 1st Amendment, we have the right to do as we feel fit.” But do they? Who is their master?

In my previous blog I admitted that I was scared of future legislation that would “secure the nation” against “domestic terrorism”. I must have had a senior moment thinking that the US was an open market based republic that endorsed free speech. In reality we have transgressed into a Corporatism State controlled by the industry giants that Washington has seduced into their bed. 

Corporatism has nothing to do with a business corporation. Corporatism is a system of government. The term is derived from the Latin word for body, corpus. The body of Corporatism is the private businesses or sometimes public/private “independent” commissions that are used to regulate their industry. Under Corporatism the leaders/CEOs become the chess pieces for governmental/state strategies and dictates.

One Hand Washes the Other

Corporatism hides behind the fact that private companies are not under direct control of government. So, when the government delegates through “private” organizations their directives are “softened” by an intermediate layer of authority. This system gives a perception of free and independent entities serving their clients but in reality they are the arm of the government. As a matter of fact many refer to Corporatism as “soft Fascism”.  

Rulers have always had an aversion to an open markets that function without direction or control by the state. In Corporatism, the Oligarchs of industry benefit from Washington’s protection. They are allowed to pursue their motivations of profit and maintain their self-interest, property, competitiveness and as long as they fall in line with the Washington directives. 

Technically industry compliance is voluntary but the Oligarchs will not tolerate non-compliance. Put more bluntly, Historian Andrew Wolvin, said of Corporatism it’s, “based on voluntary cooperation, but those who did not comply were to be forced into participation.” 

Big Tech

The Corporate regulatory government is very efficient and is capable of an almost immediate response to crisis or perceived crisis. The ruling elites, of their industry, can disseminate the dictates of Washington without the usual delays of a parliamentary procedure as they did in deplatforming of Parler. 

https://gizmodo.com/dropped-by-virtually-every-vender-parler-is-scrambling-1846031337

The war on “domestic” terrorism has been declared and big tech has mustered its forces to lend aid. This war is aimed at the openness of the 1st amendment, the inability to control their narrative. Tech’s big three CEO’s were given their marching orders this past summer. Just prior to the final push toward the 2020 Presidential election, Congress instructed them to go forth and do a better job at censoring their domains. The reward appears to be that Congress and the giants of tech will collaborate on censoring and the writing of any anti-trust legislation. 

On November 15th, at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Congress held a public evaluation of their Presidential election performance. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/11/17/tech-hearing-dorsey-zuckerberg/ 

Big Tech was questioned about their companies’ “content moderation practices” during the election. Congress played their role wonderfully. The Republicans grandstanding about excessive censorship aimed at conservatives while the Democrat peacocks unfurled their trains while pushing for more censorship against misinformation and hate speech.

This divide on censorship was revealed at this past summer’s Congressional hearings, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressed his confusion as to which god he should serve. “The fact that both sides criticize us doesn’t mean we’re getting this right. But it does mean that there are real disagreements about where the limits of online speech should be.” November’s election of Biden cleared this ambiguity. More censorship!

Mainstream Media

The take-over at the capital has jump-started a vindictive hysteria across media venues. The Washington Post has argued for a “hate speech” ban. Most mainstream media reports “reveal” that it was white supremacists and anti-Semites who overrun the Capitol. The New York Times tells us that “a debate has broken out over whether the once-sacrosanct constitutional protection of the First Amendment has become a threat to democracy.” “Hate speech,” threatens democracy?

Will the Democrat president and Congress succeed in passing laws that specifically deny First-Amendment protections to white supremacists, hate speech, anti-lockdowners, anti-green initiative or any other anti-wok group? Preying on the public’s fear of “terrorism” has a long and successful history of abuse. 

We The People

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn author of Gulag Archipelago, claimed that the foundation of totalitarianism is an ideology made of lies. The system depends for its existence on a people’s fear of challenging the lies. Many of us, if not most, do not have the strength to stand up in public and say what they really believe. However, we need to show some courage and refuse to affirm what we do not believe. The dignity of truth may be the only way the 1st Amendment will survive.