the Overton window – very well explained with examples by Caitlin Johnstone

the Overton window is the spectrum of debate considered socially acceptable; the eponymous Joseph Paul Overton (1960–2003) used to pitch to donors the power of his think tank to shift the spectrum of socially acceptable debate to the political right

Noam Chomsky in The Common Good, 1998:
The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum – even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives people the sense that there’s free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate.*

Caitlin Johnstone, November 2019:

2021-05-05T21:25−07* / at the about* post – at bit.ly/dateposted – anyone can link to this post from its date: May 5, 2021
*a link – or not; see a note on notes and links and a disclaimer / … and maybe browse or search the archive*

see original article on author’s website*
see some or all of her Substack articles*

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Chris Hedges on the cult of the self



20210423T1400−07*
*a link; see a note on notes and links; see also a disclaimer / … and maybe browse or search the post archive*

copied from a footnote to a previous miscellany post:
We have been told a lie … a lie that says progress comes as a result of the efforts of “great” individuals. That lie is used to justify the huge wealth inequity in the world today. The truth is that progress is the result of our ability to cooperate with each other. And it is time that the fruits of that progress be used to help everyone live a dignified life.

—Yuval Noah Harari*

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fiction: the secret of our so-called success

“The secret was probably the appearance of fiction.” —Yuval Noah Harari (!gb)*




20210412T2036−07*
*a link; see a note on notes and links; see also a disclaimer / … and maybe browse or search the post archive*

2021-04-14
closing captions:
We have been told a lie … a lie that says progress comes as a result of the efforts of “great” individuals. That lie is used to justify the huge wealth inequity in the world today. The truth is that progress is the result of our ability to cooperate with each other. And it is time that the fruits of that progress be used to help everyone live a dignified life.

story by Yuval Noah Harari
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sociopathic: all large companies, most large organizations

“All large companies (and indeed most large organisations) are intrinsically sociopathic. When will that penny drop?” —John Naughton (@jnn1), Memex, April 8, 2021*

image source: a Mick Fealty tweet that includes the quote above*

from the NYT op-ed on harassment that the Memex post links to:
As soon as my complaint with H.R. was filed, Google went from being a great workplace to being any other company: It would protect itself first. I’d structured my life around my job — exactly what they wanted me to do — but that only made the fallout worse when I learned that the workplace that I cherished considered me just an employee, one of many and disposable. …

When I didn’t get a promotion, some of my stock grants ran out and so I effectively took a big pay cut. Nevertheless, I wanted to stay at Google. I still believed, despite everything, that Google was the best company in the world. Now I see that my judgment was clouded, but after years of idolizing my workplace, I couldn’t imagine life beyond its walls.

So I interviewed with and got offers from two other top tech companies, hoping that Google would match. In response, Google offered me slightly more money than I was making, but it was still significantly less than my competing offers. I was told that the Google finance office calculated what I was worth to the company. I couldn’t help thinking that this calculus included the complaint I’d filed and the time I’d taken off as a consequence.

I felt I had no choice but to leave, this time for good. Google’s meager counteroffer was final proof that this job was just a job and that I’d be more valued if I went elsewhere.

After I quit, I promised myself to never love a job again. Not in the way I loved Google. Not with the devotion businesses wish to inspire when they provide for employees’ most basic needs like food and health care and belonging. No publicly traded company is a family. I fell for the fantasy that it could be.*


20210409T1450−07*
*a link; see a note on notes and links; see also a disclaimer / … and maybe browse or search the post archive*
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