Reply #10: Do you mean to say... [View All]

[davekriss]

The fetishism of the commodity — the domination of society by "intangible as well as tangible things" — attains its ultimate fulfillment in the spectacle, where the real world is replaced by a selection of images which are projected above it, yet which at the same time succeed in making themselves regarded as the epitome of reality.
-- Guy Debord, Society of the Spectacle

Yes that does seem to be highly operative in our culture. Also, it was the intention of early "public relations", as birthed by Bernays, to render the vast majority of citizens as "spectators", blissful on the sidelines while the important people made the geo-political decisions for us (to their own advantage, of course).

I also recall the byline of a list server I used to use a while ago: "Get off the internet; I'll see you in the streets!" (appeared at the bottom of every displyed page).