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Who do we try to rescue today?
Canada under corporate rule
Finn, Ed Publisher: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Ottawa, Canada
Year Published: 2000
Pages: 182pp Price: $19.95 ISBN: 0-88627-217-3
Library of Congress Number: HD2809.F55 2000 Dewey: 322'.3'0971
Resource Type: Book
A collection of essays discussing aspects of the role of corporations in late-20th-century Canada.
Abstract: A collection of essays published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives that discuss aspects of the role of corporations in late-20th-century Canada. According to Finn, corporate power plays a dominant role in Canadian society and is stifling democracy. Since only an "informed, dedicated, militant, and mobilized populace" could challenge the existing socioeconomic order, Finn collected essays intending "first to inform, second to infuriate, third to encourage, and fourth to galvanize" his readers. He hopes to inspire a popular uprising against Canada's corporate rulers.
Corporations placed themselves in their current position of societal power by buying control of the media and coercing political parties. This granted them total legal freedom while simultaneously allowing them to keep the public uninformed about efforts to privatize as much of the public sector as possible. The media is an indispensible part of the maintenance of corporate rule as it allows corporations to preserve the "illusion of democracy" and "[convince] the masses to acquiesce in their own subjection." These media efforts have largely been successful, as a number of corporate-sponsored myths have apparently become part of the public consciousness. Among these falsehoods are the conviction that government spending cutbacks are good for society and the idea that the Canadian government is a democracy as opposed to a plutocracy.
Corporate actions have caused widespread poverty in developing and developed countries alike. Though social action groups may try to "rescue" victims of "the free market," Finn holds that as long as governments remain corporate "servants," real change will be nearly impossible to attain. However, he writes with the hope that informing Canadians about their true economic and political situation might encourage them to take steps against their "corporate overlords."
[Abstract by Oliver Mao]
Table of Contents
Foreword
The Price of Silence
Part I: Corporate Rule: Accomplished
i) The Corporate Coup d'État
ii) A Crazy Conspiracy Theory?
iii) The Corporate Cancer
iv) Free Trade Fiasco
v) Free Trade: Still the No. 1 Concern
vi) Bread and Circuses
vii) "Money is Like Manure"
viii) How the IMF Started the War in Kosovo
Part II: Corporate Rule: Maintained
i) Why Complain? The UN Says We're No. 1!
ii) The Charge of the Left Brigade
iii) Our Leaking Lifeboat
iv) Waiting for the Trickle
v) Money: The Ultimate Weapon
vi) The New World Order: Here to stay?
vii) Grim Thoughts on Entering the New Millennium
Part III: Corporate Rule: The Myths
i) What We "Know" That Ain't So
ii) The Money is There
iii) Scapegoating the Poor
iv) Wealth and Charity
v) Fantasy and Reality
vi) The "Good" Old Days
Part IV: Corporate Rule: The Effects
i) Who Do We Try to Rescue Today?
ii) Poverty and Plenty
iii) Welcome to the Third World
iv) The Downward Slide Continues
v) The Price of Smaller Governments
vi) The Decline of Collectivity
Part V: Corporate Rule: The Servants
i) A Lament for Democracy
ii) Tips on What (Not) to Read
iii) Let's ignore the Politicians
iv) Let's Outlaw Broken Promises
v) The Corporate Devolution Script
vi) Alternative Budge Policies - and Packaging
vii) "Good Corporate Citizenship"
Part VI: Corporate Rule: Challenged
i) The Revolt Against Corporate Rule
ii) Tips on Taming the TNSs
iii) Barbarism, Inc
iv) The Right to Strike
v) A Plug for "Silent Coup"
vi) Harnessing Our Power as Consumers
vii) Why We Need Our Own Media
viii) The Fate of the Modern Heretic
ix) It All Boils Down to Unfair Distribution
Epilogue
Topics
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