Playlist for Show: Long Waves

This show opens with a discussion of the firing of an OSHA officer in charge of protecting whistleblowers for whistleblowing. The Orwellian implications of this suggest that protecting power from criticism is infinitely more important that defending the law and making change for the better. Sibel Edmunds, Chelsea Manning, Snowden and others performed a service by bringing to light violations of law and secret activities of the government. Yet, those in power are not punished while those who reveal the excesses of power face draconian reprisals. The message sent is that only the state has rights and its rights triumph over its responsibility.

This self-protection is in keeping with the observations of Adam Smith who noted that the masters always serve their own ends; they have no sense of the common good. This critique argues against the current push to privatize the whole of the social world and so eliminate government. This is faux conservatism.

Following these trends, the US continues to become increasingly like the old Soviet where approved language and markers of people’s approval of the government take the place of real debate, genuine discussion and transparency.

 

 

 

 

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