Sometimes we see these completely bizzare fabrications about enemy states, like everyone in the DPRK being forced to have the same haircut and everyone in China living under constant threat of losing "social credit".
I wonder if part of the reason those stories circulates is because they encourage us to think about state coercion in the most childish, simplified way possible which makes us less likely to consider how the state actually influences the media and coerces the population in less obvious ways.
In the deranged imagination of liberals at least you can still do stuff like post CPC propaganda to increase your social credit, but when it comes to credit score which actually exists you're mostly just fucked if you're born poor
It's to distract you from the horrors your life. "See, it could be so much worse". A lot of propaganda techniques are basically just being an abusive partner/parent but to the whole country ("if you leave me, you'll die/get attacked by someone worse", "you'll never find anyone better than me", "I make your life miserable for your own good", etc.)
Sometimes we see these completely bizzare fabrications about enemy states, like everyone in the DPRK being forced to have the same haircut and everyone in China living under constant threat of losing "social credit".
I wonder if part of the reason those stories circulates is because they encourage us to think about state coercion in the most childish, simplified way possible which makes us less likely to consider how the state actually influences the media and coerces the population in less obvious ways.
today in projection:
the South Korean military dictatorship installed by the USA actually did police haircuts in the 1970s [article]
Americans are increasingly obsessed with their credit scores
In the deranged imagination of liberals at least you can still do stuff like post CPC propaganda to increase your social credit, but when it comes to credit score which actually exists you're mostly just fucked if you're born poor
In America, you get social credit by shopping with a credit card.
Damn, Let's trim our hair in accordance with the socialist lifestyle was just playing catch-up
It's to distract you from the horrors your life. "See, it could be so much worse". A lot of propaganda techniques are basically just being an abusive partner/parent but to the whole country ("if you leave me, you'll die/get attacked by someone worse", "you'll never find anyone better than me", "I make your life miserable for your own good", etc.)