If you were a corporate supremacist and you wanted to divide and conquer the American People

[Uncle Joe]

Poll question: If you were a corporate supremacist and you wanted to divide and conquer the American People

in order to rule over them, which methods would you use?

[Avalux]

1. We are the majority and if we work together, they're screwed.

So how do they keep us fighting each other? All the above, with a lot of help from the media.

[obxhead]

2. They do all of the above quite effectively. All you have to do is

look at DU alone for proof of that.

The amount of HATE amongst groups I have seen here this week alone has been quite nauseating. Mostly in the name of defending one politician or another, all of whom fight for corporate interests before they fight for us.

[kctim]

3. None of the above

a corporate 'supremacist' would use class. You're options are what an ideological 'supremacist' uses.

[Uncle Joe]

5. If you're a corporate supremacist intent on ruling the people, dividing by class

works against your best interests as the focus turns to wealth and power or the lack thereof. This approach may work to some degree when economic times are great and the vast majority are doing well, and thus become complacent and or selfish but it could quickly turn against you during tough times.

All the other dividers keep the people fighting among-st them selves, making it less likely they will notice who and/or what is working against them.

[kctim]

12. Interesting

but our society is one in which the vast majority have no idea what real poverty is. Our poor have cell phones, AC, indoor plumbing, DVDs and cars. Our middle class has nice homes, SUVs, boats, 4 wheelers, pool tables etc... Yes, we are complacent, but we have been given enough in order to keep us comfortable and a corporate supremacist would see that the vast majority of Americans now fear losing their material things more than they fear whitey, blacky, him, her, gay, lez, Jew or whatever else politicians and special interests tell them to. IMO, that is why 'redistribution of wealth' has gained so much traction lately.

A corporate supremacist will always want more wealth and an ideological supremacist will always want to more control over the people.

[Uncle Joe]

14. A corporate supremacist is an ideological supremacist believing in

corporate or oligarch domination over the American People and their representatives, which in turn leads to more wealth, but they can't come out and very well campaign that way. So they use or magnify the people's fears and hatreds to divide and conquer for the sake of corporate/oligarch supremacy.

Our society may be wealthier than other nations; with greater amounts of severe subsistence level poverty, but he dynamic is the same, the people do know when they're losing ground.

So while the nation becomes fearful or angry over illegal immigration; which De Facto translates to Hispanics, Mexican Americans and Latinos the issue of the totally out-sized ratio of CEO to labor salary is all but ignored.

[kctim]

17. Corps are about wealth, not domination

over the people. They may try and dictate what you purchase, but they cannot dictate that you must purchase. They may try and convince you that their brand is best, but they cannot force you to support what they believe. Only government has the power to do that. Some may believe all corps are like Mr. Burns and bent on world domination, but I do not.
A corp wants you to buy and they try to convince you to buy. But they also know you cannot, or will not, buy if you have less money because it was given to somebody else.
Yes, people know when they are losing ground, but losing ground nowadays means losing the material objects they desire.

People are pissed off over illegal immigration because it is ILLEGAL, not because they hate the groups you mentioned. And its not that they ignore the out-sized ratio in salary, they just don't care. Sure they look at it and say its crazy, maybe even unfair, but in the end they just don't care because their standard of living isn't as bad as it needs to be for them to care.

[Uncle Joe]

19. If they control the government, they can dictate that you purchase either by decree

or government sanctioned monopoly.

Corporate supremacy is De Facto about both; wealth through domination over the people whether as the railroads and mines did during the 19th century, aka Gilded Age, aka Robber Barons, which beget the ideology of corporate supremacy or today's version by the dictating of mandated for profit "health" insurance.

These corporate supremacists play less and less by national concerns, it's a world market and if your people don't have the money to spend, they go elsewhere.

As for losing ground, it may start with the material objects but if that dynamic stays in place; inevitably necessities will follow, ie; health care.

If the economy were booming and unemployment were extremely low, while all boats were rising, then concerns over "illegal immigrants" aka; undocumented workers would be greatly diminished whether they were legal or not, but the corporate media has kept this story front and center for a good period of time.

As for people not caring about out-sized ratio of CEO to worker salary which used to be 29x in late 80s and today is approximately 300x is because the corporate supremacists' owned corporate media rarely cover that story in depth and/or the economic/social implications from such a dynamic.

This is part and parcel of corporate domination of the government which due to the Supreme Court's recent ruling allowing unlimited corporate spending on issue advocacy during election season will only become more acute as the corporate media propaganda machine has an even greater impact on elections.

[RaleighNCDUer]

9. Huh uh. That's the LAST thing he would use - it would be way too

clear that he is in one class and the rest in another. He would loudly proclaim a 'classless society' while using all those other tools to actually preserve his class.

[ThomWV]

4. Historically Religion vs. Religion has always worked, so I had to chose it now.

I honestly do believe history repeats itself, or something like that.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

6. I'd make products for them that they would want to buy.

:shrug:

[Uncle Joe]

7. That's nice but it has nothing do do with being corporate supremacist.

:shrug:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

8. The goal of a corporation is to make money for your shareholders.

You do that by providing some product or service that your customers want to buy.

[Uncle Joe]

15. Yes, but that's not corporate supremacy.

Corporate supremacists believe that corporations and oligarchs should dominate the American People; and their elected representative government.

I also believe corporate supremacists only believe nominally in making money for their shareholders, the primary goal seems to be live for the day while making sure those at the top make the mega bucks, failure is rewarded and golden parachutes a given.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

18. "corporate supremacy" is just a nonsense term you made up.

It's sound and fury, representing nothing.

[Uncle Joe]

20. Why is it so difficult for you believe that mega-corporations and/or oligarchs;

want to dominate government to serve their own interests?

Why do you believe they spend all that lobbying aka; legal bribery money?

Why do you believe the corporate media spend an inordinate amount of their "news" coverage time on opinion pieces and commentary?

I honestly don't believe I was first person to come up with that term, but thanks for the compliment.

[Uncle Joe]

21. P.S. Here is a nice video of Dan Rather outlining a few of the points; that I'm

trying to make re: the issue of corporate supremacy's; effects on our national democratic deliberation and subsequent power over or collusion with the government re: policy, which basically excludes or distorts the American Peoples' will and best interests and edit to add it's all done to obtain corporate wealth.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x492132

[Jackpine Radical]

11. You could have cheap shit made in China

using slave labor & sell it to people who are about to run out of unemployment insurance. Thus you would gather up their last few shekels as they fight over useless plastic things.

Personally, I refer to this strategy as the Schlock Doctrine.

[sinkingfeeling]

10. You forgot to add 'economic class'.

[laughingliberal]

13. All of the above AND income levels. The more divisions among us, the less they have to worry about.

[Uncle Joe]

16. Yes but they're more limited re: the income level, this is why

their bought and paid for politicians and corporate media mouth pieces are so quick to scream "class warfare" whenever income disparity is raised or taxes on the mega wealthy are proposed.

Due to the numbers; corporate supremacists know that income dividers; are not in their favor, too blatantly even in good times, but they're definitely sailing against the wind during bad times.