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(More customer reviews)Edward Herman deserves equal ranking with other great debunkers of our day. His style is more academic than say, Chomsky or Parenti, but he achieves genuine depth even in the short space compiled in the book. This is done by locating pivotal points in the topic and developing them with insight and fact, as exemplified in a devastating analysis of Milton Friedman and the Chicago school of economics, a chief source of neo-liberal theory.
Though many topical issues are discussed, most center around globalism and the emerging world of unrestrained capital. Though all sections have merit, those adressing economics, and media are strongest. Not only are the likes of a Friedman debunked, but so are major defects in the work of such lesser lights as Peter Passell and his Limbaugh-like anti-environmentalism. Particularly useful is the author's discussion of how the science of economics has been politicized, with the Nobel prize as a prime example. Also noteworthy: A model of development for Third World countries, i.e. basic needs/ independence model, that would prioritize domestic investment over the dependency brand required by western interests. Apologists for the global power grab like to pretend neo-liberalism is the only framework left to choose from. Seldom mentioned are those killer technologies from the sky that make sure no alternatives challenge "free trade" and the dominant class lurking behind it.
The sections on media's role in carrying out state propaganda are noteworthy for a balanced and nimble approach. Herman shrewdly points out the face-saving features that make a democratic media appear credible in the eyes of many. Yet, as he shows too, this is only a facade. For behind it a very effective system of decentralized censorship operates, the major mechanisms of which the book spells out. It should be added that this current system - and system it is - has evolved over time, without central direction or guiding blueprint, into perhaps the most effective form of public manipulation in history. Despite all, a general public that is aware of vested interests, senses this same media is not to be trusted. But the complex mechanisms which would validate such cynicism are rarely spelled out or popularly understood, so the disconnect continues. Compounding this is a political rightwing that deflects popular doubts onto a supposed liberal bias in reporting, a truly Orwellian twist. Herman's hope for the future lies in a burgeoning civic sector media, free from private and public sector warps.
All in all, this is an excellent purchase for the serious reader, particularly for those inclined by years of indoctrination into supposing that America and America Inc. are the same thing.
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