Before we dig deeper, I am going to start with two clips, both of which are now iconic. They both represent how behind reality, sits us. The public. Our role is not to be part of a democracy but to be part of a game controlled by others. People we will never meet, let alone hear us. Unless we comprehend this and respond, it will merely get worse. For those who do not care or defend what you are about to experience I am just going to come out and say it. You are part of the disease. Your denials are symptomatic of your impotence. For the rest of us, we must never be like them. Ever!
The Obsession of Celebrity
Lobotomisation
Digging Deeper: The Abyss
There is always a distraction. There is always a long distance folk devil or devils to keep us occupied. All the while the beasts within continue to terrorise us.
The term “Western democracies” often conjures images of freedom, choice, and progress, epitomised by nations such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, and the European Union member states. These countries are hailed as bastions of liberal democracy, where citizens ostensibly enjoy the right to political participation and the benefits of a thriving capitalist economy. However, beneath this veneer of choice and liberty lies a far more restrictive reality: a system of ideological and economic domination that limits genuine democratic engagement and concentrates power in the hands of corporate elites. In the following I will explore these mechanisms of control using the theoretical lens of hegemony and Steven Lukes’s third dimension of power, while examining the roles of corporate lobbying, propaganda, and media manipulation.
Liberal Democracies: Illusions of Choice
Liberal democracies pride themselves on providing citizens with electoral choice, but in practice, this choice is severely constrained. Across the Western world, political parties often converge on key economic and social policies, particularly around the maintenance of neoliberal capitalism. The major political parties in the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, and the EU may offer rhetorical differences, but their policies consistently uphold the interests of big business and financial institutions.
This phenomenon is indicative of what Lukes describes as the third dimension of power; shaping desires and perceptions so profoundly that dissent is neutralised before it even emerges. Citizens, conditioned by decades of political narratives, accept limited political choice as inevitable, even natural. Elections, rather than empowering citizens, become exercises in choosing between slightly different iterations of the same pro-corporate governance.
The Hegemonic Role of Capitalism
Antonio Gramsci’s concept of hegemony offers a useful framework for understanding how the Western ideological system operates. Hegemony is not merely about coercive power but about the capacity to create a dominant worldview that makes alternative systems appear unthinkable. Capitalism, in Western democracies, has achieved this hegemonic status. The belief in the so called free market’s superiority, individualism, and consumer choice pervades every aspect of life, from education to entertainment.
This hegemony is reinforced by institutions that present capitalism as synonymous with democracy and freedom. Dissenters advocating for alternative economic systems, such as socialism or cooperative economies, are often marginalised or dismissed as “ideological extremists.” The ideological straitjacket ensures that capitalist principles remain unchallenged and their compatibility with democracy goes unquestioned, even when they undermine genuine democratic processes.
The Economic Dictatorship of Corporate Power
Corporate Lobbyists: The Architects of Policy
One of the most direct manifestations of economic dictatorship in the West is the disproportionate influence of corporate lobbyists. In the United States, corporate lobbying is a multi-billion-dollar industry, with sectors such as pharmaceuticals, defence, and tech spending vast sums to shape legislation in their favour. The UK, EU, Canada, and Australia are similarly plagued by lobbying networks that prioritise corporate interests over public good.
These lobbyists ensure that governments adopt policies that benefit corporations, such as tax breaks, deregulation, and weak labour protections. In the EU, for example, the European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT) has long influenced economic policies to favour large corporations, often at the expense of smaller businesses and workers. Similarly, in the UK, corporate influence has been visible in areas ranging from financial deregulation to privatisation of public services.
Through their lobbying efforts, corporations essentially write the rules of the game. This creates a plutocratic system where wealth equates to power, undermining the democratic ideal of one person, one vote. Policy decisions are dictated by those who can afford to fund political campaigns, not by the electorate’s collective will.
The Revolving Door Between Politics and Business
A significant enabler of this corporate influence is the “revolving door” between politics and business. Politicians often transition into lucrative roles in the private sector after leaving office, while corporate executives frequently take up advisory or ministerial roles in government. This blurs the line between public service and private profit, creating a mutually beneficial relationship that excludes the interests of ordinary citizens.
Examples abound, such as former British Prime Minister David Cameron lobbying for Greensill Capital or former EU officials joining major banks and lobbying firms. This intertwining of corporate and political spheres ensures that economic policy continues to prioritise profit over people.
Propaganda and the Role of Corporate Media
Media Consolidation: Narrowing the Narrative
In Western democracies, the media is often described as a “fourth estate,” serving as a check on power. However, the consolidation of media ownership into the hands of a few corporations undermines this function. In the US, companies like Disney, Comcast, and News Corp dominate, while similar concentrations exist in the UK (e.g., Rupert Murdoch’s media empire) and Australia. This concentration ensures that media narratives align with corporate interests.
The media does not merely report facts; it shapes perceptions and priorities. Stories that challenge capitalism or corporate power are often underreported or framed as radical. Instead, the media focuses on issues that reinforce the status quo, creating an echo chamber that limits the public’s imagination of alternative systems.
Manufacturing Consent
Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman’s concept of “manufacturing consent” aptly describes how Western media serves as a tool of propaganda. Through selective coverage, framing, and emphasis, the media primes citizens to accept policies and ideologies that favour elite interests. For instance, austerity measures are often presented as “necessary” despite evidence of their harmful effects on the most vulnerable.
In Lukes’s third dimension of power, this media-driven propaganda shapes not only what people think but how they think. The media’s constant reinforcement of capitalist ideals creates a mental framework that delegitimises dissenting views before they can gain traction.
Elections as Rituals of Power Maintenance
Elections in Western democracies are frequently touted as the ultimate expression of freedom. Yet, they often serve as rituals that legitimise an already entrenched power structure. The heavy reliance on corporate funding for political campaigns ensures that candidates who align with business interests dominate. In the US, for example, winning a Senate seat often costs millions of dollars, effectively excluding candidates without access to significant financial backing.
In the UK, the first-past-the-post system further narrows political choice, perpetuating a two-party dominance that limits ideological diversity. Canada and Australia face similar issues, with electoral systems that disproportionately favour established parties. The EU, despite its proportional representation systems, is often criticised for being technocratic, with key decisions made by unelected officials influenced by corporate lobbies.
The Third Dimension of Power: Shaping Desires and Beliefs
Steven Lukes’s third dimension of power explains how Western democracies maintain control not just through coercion or decision-making but by shaping the very desires and beliefs of their citizens. This is achieved through a combination of education, media, and cultural narratives that promote capitalism and individualism as the pinnacle of human achievement.
For instance, the idea of “upward mobility”, the belief that hard work leads to success, pervades Western culture, despite growing evidence of declining social mobility. This narrative deflects attention from systemic inequalities, encouraging individuals to blame themselves for failures rather than questioning the structures that perpetuate poverty and inequality.
Similarly, the framing of “free markets” as inherently democratic obscures the reality that these markets are not in any way “free” and are often dominated by monopolistic corporations. By shaping public consciousness, Western democracies ensure that citizens internalise their own subjugation, perceiving it as freedom.
We Must Challenging the Illusion
The ideological and economic dictatorships of the West operate through a complex interplay of corporate power, limited political choice, and hegemonic narratives. Using Gramsci’s hegemony and Lukes’s third dimension of power, we see how these systems suppress genuine democratic engagement and perpetuate inequalities.
To challenge these structures, it is essential to expose the mechanisms of control and imagine alternative systems that prioritise collective well-being over corporate profit. This requires grassroots movements, independent media, and political organisations willing to confront the entrenched power of corporations and the capitalist ideology that sustains them. Only by breaking free from this ideological stranglehold can we aspire to truly democratic and equitable societies.
