The centralization of ownership of the private media in the United States and elsewhere has become increasingly pronounced, at the same time that its reporting has become increasingly one-sided and monolithic. My blog seeks to expose this lack of objectivity and present alternative ideas that point in the direction of much-needed fundamental change.
Tuesday, December 17, 2019
The movie “The Report” sheds light on what Poulantzas called “Power Centers” and others call the “Deep State”
The movie "The Report" puts
on full display what Nicos Poulantzas calls “power centers,” which operate
within the state with a degree of autonomy. The movie shows how Daniel Jones a
staff member of the office of Senator Dianne Feinstein uncovered the “enhanced
interrogation” (euphemism for torture) program of the CIA in black sites
involving a minimum of 119 cases of detainees. The CIA intentionally held back key
information from then President George W. Bush and members of his cabinet and used
illegal means to sabotage the senate committee’s investigation. Poulantzas’ concept
of “power centers” represent what today is referred to as the “deep state.” But
Poulantzas was a Marxist and did not view power centers as “subjects,” but
rather as expressions (he used the term “condensations”) of class forces. This
is quite different from the notion derived from Max Webber of the “bureaucracy”
as an entirely separate and independent entity with its own interests. The power that the
CIA wielded in this case demonstrates once again that it’s not enough for a
leftist party favoring far-reaching change to gain control of the executive and
legislative branches through electoral means. A more thoroughgoing shakeup of
the state is necessary and that’s not going to happen by negotiations or
manipulations from above.
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