Hedges Sounds Off on ‘Empire’

Truthdig columnist Chris Hedges talks about his hot new book, “Empire of Illusion,” with the Philadelphia Inquirer. The book connects cultural decline with the transformation of America into a “corporate state run by and on behalf of corporations rather than citizens.”

Philadelphia Inquirer:

Hedges argues that consumerism and celebrity culture have a powerful political function. “The whole fantasy of celebrity culture is not designed simply to entertain,” Hedges says, but to make us politically passive.

Hedges says the move from “managed capitalism” to “unfettered capitalism” over the last four to six decades - accomplished with the help of government deregulation - has refashioned America as a “corporate state run by and on behalf of corporations rather than citizens.” When corporate needs trump those of citizens, Hedges said, the poor and the weak don’t stand a chance.

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