So the ruling class REALLY rules????

So the ruling class has degraded our society. That is what I am absorbing from this chapter and I truly do agree. We as a society follow the ruling class because we believe in what they say. A great example of this following is: American politics and capitalism. Let’s start with capitalism.

Capitalism is supposed to be a free-market system that allows companies whether small family-owned or massive corporations to come and go as they please and provide its workers with wages. But, it has flipped into what feels like a communist regime because corporations are taking over these small- family owned shops and becoming monopolies in many different markets. 1% of Americans are exceptionally wealthy and most of this 1% if not all of this wealth is from corporations and the rest is the middle class. The middle class of America is enormous and unfortunately, most of the middle class is sinking into poverty or below the poverty line because wages are being slashed, workers are being released from their duties, and corporations are taking over complete markets. This taking over markets also includes technology. Corporations believe they have the power to control the American people and they want to be able to change the face and path of our society by any means possible even if it means disrupting our privacy and defecting crucial regulations. But, American politics aren’t much better because it gives corporations the money and the opportunity for influence over the American public.

American politics are manipulative and destructive because it thrives on influence and power. This is a main reason why our technology is lacking boundaries and why regulation is not stable or protective in anyway. On page 217 of Digital Disconnect, it states “the reason for corruption is the policy-making process” (McChesney, 217) and the policy-making process is how our country regulates technology. The American political system wants to please the American public by making the right decisions and basically positioning themselves in our good graces. But, who are the politicians really serving? Corporations or their own self- interest? The politicians want to please the American public because they want to have influence with some of the most powerful people in the country they are ruling which are none other than the managers and CEOs of massive corporations. Once an alliance is made between these powerful beings anything can change and our power as a democratic society deflates almost to extinction. This is where regulation on technology comes in because corporations regardless of the ranking in their market want to have just as much influence as the politicians do. They want to be beloved by the people but behind closed doors controlling, too. Corporations are given influence through the government and through the piece of action they receive they can control the regulation of our technology and other assets of our daily lives. In our class discussion about Capitalism and the Internet, we discussed the influence corporations and the government has on the technology our society uses. We mentioned the fact of the government tapping our phones and placing GPS devices on our phones so they could investigate federal crimes and study any suspicious activities. How is this privacy again? Also, we supposedly live in a country of privilege and freedom but how do we have freedom to explore our world or have conversations with our peers if CEOs and politicians can see everything and they can do whatever they want but deny us the illegal freedoms they practice?