Cyberspace

Cyberspace is where the militarized corporatocracy that runs most of the world's so-called democracies allows the little people like you and me to dump our indignation at their criminality. They let us do that because it's safe there.

It is "safe" in the sense that it serves as a kind of safety valve. We can exercise our First Amendment rights on social media, blogs, internet petitions, etc. and feel as if we've actually "done something" about the issues that matter to us. But frankly, most of what we really accomplish is letting off steam...

In a now classic study, The Crossroads of Liberalism (pub. 1960), Charles Forcey traced the careers of three early 20th century "Progressive" intellectuals and "opinion makers": Croly, Weyl, and Lippmann (all associated with the New Republic magazine). Towards the end of the book (p. 275), Forcey notes that while these men had strong ties to the Wilson Administration and "spoke for the ideals and interests of the great liberal middle class, that class no longer had much power in a world ruled by the hard and secret decisions of admirals and generals, diplomats and heads of state." That was the situation a century ago; it has not improved since then...

What has improved is the ability of the State security apparatus to surveil us. I doubt, however, that they care much about what we think or say so long as it remains in cyberspace. They know, on the one hand, that talk is cheap. On the other hand, they are locked and loaded and ready to rumble if any one of us were to get the idea to act on our perfectly justified outrage. In 2018, they have us right where they want us.