Noam Chomsky: Calling Someone ‘Anti-American’ Is a Classic Technique of Social Control (Video)

By Alexandra Rosenmann / AlterNet Sep 6, 2016 "You might take a look at that word 'Americanism,' " says the renowned linguist. "It's the kind of term that you only find in totalitarian societies." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

The Illusion of Freedom

Chris Hedges / Truthdig Aug 19, 2016 This deception will exist as long as we "stay in our place." Once we call out power for what it is, once we resist, the chimera will vanish. The iron fist of history's most sophisticated security and surveillance apparatus will assert itself with a terrifying fury. Dig deeper ( 7 Min. Read )

Oliver Stone Warns Against Surveillance Capitalism and ‘Pokémon Go’

Jordan Riefe / Truthdig Jul 28, 2016 The “Snowden” filmmaker believes technology will lead to totalitarianism, and his points about domestic spying and data mining should not be dismissed. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Edward Snowden: New Russian ‘Big Brother’ Law Would Savage Privacy and Personal Freedoms

Staff / Truthdig Jun 27, 2016 The NSA whistleblower called the law moving through Russia's Legislature an “unworkable, unjustifiable violation of rights” that would “take money and liberty from every Russian without improving safety.” Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

To Win Back Our Democracy, We Must First Recognize That We Live in an ‘Expository Society’

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Jan 25, 2016 Critical theorist Bernard Harcourt coined the term to describe our present culture, in which authorities consolidate their power by exploiting our eagerness to volunteer personal information through technology and social media. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Trump’s Embrace of Fascism Is America’s Dirty Little Secret

By Henry A. Giroux / CounterPunch Dec 4, 2015 Rather than dismissing it as a wild card in American politics, it is crucial to recognize that Trump’s popularity represents what one writer calls a dangerous “political space … in both the wider culture and in recent history.” Dig deeper ( 7 Min. Read )

The Curse of Totalitarianism and the Challenge of an Insurrectional Pedagogy

By Henry A. Giroux, CounterPunch Oct 1, 2015 It is frightfully clear that the conditions for totalitarianism and state violence are with us, smothering critical thought, social responsibility, the ethical imagination and politics itself. Dig deeper ( 26 Min. Read )

The Plague of American Authoritarianism

By Henry A. Giroux, CounterPunch Aug 24, 2015 It is too easy to believe in a binary logic that categorizes a country as either strictly authoritarian or strictly democratic, and leaves no room for the possibility of a mixture of the two. American politics today suggests a more updated if not different form of authoritarianism. Dig deeper ( 14 Min. Read )

The Lonely American

Chris Hedges / Truthdig Jun 29, 2015 Communal activities, from attendance at sporting events to civic organizations, have plummeted. We are isolated and have become hapless victims of corporate propaganda. We must reconnect to resist. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Orwell, Huxley and America’s Plunge Into Authoritarianism

By Henry A. Giroux, CounterPunch Jun 21, 2015 In spite of their differing perceptions, George Orwell and Aldous Huxley both argued that the established democracies of the West were quickly foreclosing the promise of liberal democracy and entering a space where totalitarianism perverts the modern ideals of justice, freedom and political emancipation. Dig deeper ( 30 Min. Read )

Our Mania for Hope Is a Curse

Chris Hedges / Truthdig May 25, 2015 Our corporate masters know that our obsession with hope—the irrational belief we are headed toward some glorious future—causes us to ignore reality and remain disempowered. And this is why they peddle the myth of inevitable progress across the cultural and political spectrum. Dig deeper ( 8 Min. Read )

VIDEO: Scheer and Hedges on Surveillance, Corporatism and the National Security State (Part 3/7)

Kasia Anderson / Truthdig May 22, 2015 Chris Hedges and Robert Scheer continue their conversation for The Real News Network about Scheer's latest book, "They Know Everything About You: How Data-Collecting Corporations and Snooping Government Agencies Are Destroying Democracy." In this segment, they discuss whether there is room for optimism vis-à-vis the surveillance of American citizens and the plunder of personal data by the fused corporate-political state. Dig deeper ( 13 Min. Read )