The media and development

Feb 07, 2025 Letters

Dear Editor

The first thing we have to do is ask if any of the existing parties represents the interests of the working people or are interested in the unity of the working people or have acted to alleviate the suffering of the broad masses, or have they acted to fill their pockets and pockets of their friends, cronies and family.

Today more than ever before, we are witnessing how the mainstream media and those who control social media exercise strong control of what is being disseminated as demonstrated by the Ukraine and Israel war. Three companies, BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard are the largest shareholders, 88%, of all SMP 500 companies. The amount of money in circulation in the world is about US$440 trillion. These three CEOs control about US$66 six major media companiestrillion.

BlackRock and Vanguard are the two largest shareholders in the that control more than 90% of the U.S. Media Landscape. I hope readers appreciate the connection. They control the companies and they exercise influence over our minds.

The extremely rich owns Twitter, Google Facebook and the list is long. Most of the TV stations, publishing houses, newspapers, magazines etc. are owned by the top .01 % of the capitalist class. We must also consider the concept written about by Gramsci, “Cultural hegemony” where we are socialised by the ruling elites to defend their interest. Bob Marley sang about liberating ourselves from mental slavery while others insist so many are colonial in their mentality. Karl Marx wrote extensively about ideology that we internalise and which defends and justifies the existing socioeconomic formation. Without this, the minority of exploitative elites would not survive. The House slaves, If Massa sick would say we sick.

Today when persons like me try to explain and educate as to the realities of the present system. Trying to explain that this once progressive system that advanced the world has now become retrogressive and counter-productive they are attacked. Professors explain that free enterprise capitalism has been transformed into monopoly capitalism.

You have frequently read, heard of oligarchs. Well, there exists a huge number of oligarchies. And don’t forget the often quoted examples of countries mentioned to prove how great this system is, the G-7. But these countries colonised and enslaved to reach their greatness and dominance over the world.

Today we see how PPPites and PNCites at the lower level of the socioeconomic ladder would attack even physically those who dare criticise their party. For them their party does no wrong. The same dogmatic behaviour of defending what they know and considering any and everything that opposes what they know to be wrong.

It would be comedic if not serious how even the educated who know the concept of socialisation, indoctrination would argue strongly to defend what they know. I saw this quote on social media, “You must always be willing to truly consider evidence that contradicts your beliefs and admit the possibility that you may be wrong. Intelligence is not knowing everything. It’s the ability to challenge everything you know”.

The famous American Professor and writer, Richard Wolf in a video said that during the 1930s President Rooseveldt solved the problems facing the working people by taxing the rich corporations not because he was a radical, as he was a conventional rich kid, but because he was pressured by “a coalition of communists and Socialists and Unions. The communists and Socialists also led the struggle for the right to trade unions.

So, at the end of World War II the enraged capitalists who knew this was because of this coalition went to work to destroy this coalition to prevent this from happening again. So, “the communist activists who were the leaders of the unions in many industries, and in the struggle against fascism in Italy, Germany Japan, became not leaders not heroes but demons, converted into agents of a foreign power, the USSR.

To be continued but you have to ask yourselves in the meantime, if we should question what we have been taught over the years recognising what I wrote above about who controls the dissemination of information.

Rajendra Bisessar

Bsc Sociology, LLB

Presidential Candidate

United Democratic Front (UDF)

(The media and development)

mainstream media, six major media companies, social media exercise, U.S. Media Landscape.

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