Every great experiment in authoritarian government has attempted to monopolize the media, which is essential to the functioning of the one-party state. Freedom of speech, assembly, trade and even thought must be controlled, or by today’s usage “cancelled”. Regrettably the intensity grows as governments run by political bullies go mad with power. Their disasters have been seen in small countries in Africa or South America, or in the big ones such as Eastern Europe and China; but there have been three times when the senior and most prosperous country succumbed to the ambition of control freaks to, well, impose control. “They” destroyed the wonders of Roman civilization, and the next regrettable example ran through the 1500s, when the Church was corrupted into a venal and murderous police state. The next, and lately becoming unrelentingly intrusive experiment, began in the early 1900s as the politically ambitious set out to impose utopian dictatorships.
Perhaps suggesting a reversal, some of the worst propaganda agents--CNN, Twitter and YouTube--are suffering seriously diminishing revenues.
Wherever they could and even in countries dedicated to individual liberty, the steamroller run by the Left overwhelmed constitutional protections. Each country went authoritarian in its own way.
One can never explain why an ambitious minority would want to destroy freedom and prosperity, but such disasters happen. With the indelible observation that for dictatorial leaders it doesn’t matter how impoverished the country becomes, they must have control. Which requires a monolithic media overwhelming independent thought or criticism.
Opposing views are not allowed.
The imposition of unpopular policies requires corruption of media and even essential state agencies. Instead of serving the people, the FBI, IRS and DOJ have been weaponized by control freaks at the top.
In looking at how intense the American Left has become one can now see that the promotion of climate and COVID hysteria brooks no limits.
But “Enough!” is spreading in many countries.
Falling ratings and revenues are reducing the power to disseminate Leftist dogma
Fortunately, the two key previous examples exhausted themselves and collapsed. It took somewhat more than a hundred years for the experiment to climax in a frenzy of political and financial madness. Driven by hyper-politics, the state depreciates the currency, which forces hyper financial speculation, which collapses ending the political furies. Opening the way to reform.
The default position has been accountable and affordable government, with the ideals of freedom, including an independent media.
This writer has described the major political and economic horror-shows as Tyrannical Centuries. The latest travesty began in the early 1900s, and the current mania in intrusion and depreciation along with wild political and financial markets suggests “ending action”.
At some 120 years, it has become insufferable enough to inspire reform, particularly with the hard times as the recession worsens.
Falling ratings and revenues are reducing the power to disseminate Leftist dogma. Perhaps called involuntary reform, actual political reform to responsible journalism would be a separate movement.
Within this, the Leftist “Guardian” also seems precarious. In 1936, it was set up as a trust to “Secure the financial and editorial independence of The Guardian in perpetuity and to safeguard the journalistic values and freedom of The Guardian free from commercial and political interference”.
Now it is the champion of “political interference”, seemingly in perpetuity.
Support Canada Free Press
That weaponization of government agencies anticipated the swamps of today’s Washington
One of the saddest things in political history has been the corruption of the meaning of “liberal” from freedom to just another epithet for yet another experiment in Tyrannical Duncery. As it was called in the early 1600s, by veteran merchants in London.
Even in England then, political brutes went for full control, including an attempted monopoly of the media.
The combination of church and state had the voice of thousands of Anglican priests with formidable influence across the realm. This wasn’t enough and the extraordinary powers of the Star Chamber were employed against the politically incorrect.
This became abusive during the “Personal Rule” of Charles I, which prevailed for eleven years when James continued the evil.
Ironically, the Star Chamber was created to ensure fair enforcement of the law applying to politically and socially prominent people. People powerful enough to threaten the supposedly impartiality of ordinary courts.
Regrettably, under Archbishop Laud, the Chamber became a daunting instrument against those with incorrect political views. In the early 1900s, Edgar Lee Masters wrote: “The Star Chamber finally summoned juries before it for verdicts disagreeable to the government and imprisoned them. It spread terror amongst those who were called to do constitutional acts. It imposed ruinous fines”.
That weaponization of government agencies anticipated the swamps of today’s Washington. In Canada it is CBC, CTV and the Prime Minister’s Office.
Part of the intrusion was to ban politically incorrect publications. But the increasingly prosperous and increasingly independent middle classes got around by having their their books and pamphlets published in Amsterdam, then the bastion of freedom and prosperity.
The “Glorious Revolution” of 1688 provided a remarkable step to freedom
Today’s avenue to freedom is the internet as well as public rallies. Trump’s as well as Canada’s Freedom Convoy and more recently those by the charismatic and articulate new leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Pierre Poilievre.
The “Glorious Revolution” of 1688 provided a remarkable step to freedom. Fortunately, the authoritarian James II saw the political tide turning against him and sought solace in totalitarian France. England’s last absolutist king was deposed, but now ordinary Brits are again the prey of absolutist politicians, governments and their absolutist media.
In America, the “Glorious” equivalent would be within the constitution, whereby all state legislatures oversee fair general elections. And federal intrusion through the weaponization of DOJ, FBI and the IRS will be reformed.
Witness “Global Warming” theories forcing unprecedented shortages of reliable and affordable power. Propaganda at its best, forcing economics to its worst.
Political distress is evident in many countries with in-your-face and in-your-wallet government becoming “too much” inspiring popular uprisings. Essentially prompted by the governing classes living and promising well as ordinary folk suffer hardship.
The iniquity could become acute as the recession worsens. The reduction in tax revenues to all levels of government will be a shock to the ungovernable governing classes.
Moreover, the November elections could be a key step in returning power back to “we the people”. Many ordinary folk are discovering that the Democrat Party has left them and are turning to the GOP, which is being reformed. In tediously promoting the radicals the Monolithic Media is finally seen to be failing
After “winning” for more than a hundred years, political bullies bent upon continued mayhem are about to lose – for decades.
Bob Hoye (BobHoye.com) has been researching investments for decades, which eventually included the history of financial and political markets. He considers now to be the most fascinating time for both since the Great Reformation of the 1600s. Bob casts a caustic eye on all promotions and, having a degree in geophysics, is severely critical of the audacity that a committee can “manage” not just the economy, but also the temperature of the nearest planet. He has had articles published in major financial journals and, as a speaker, has amused assemblies in a number of cities, from London to Zurich to Tokyo.
