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Among other things, the new Adam Curtis docu-series is a good reminder that propaganda, conspiracy, & cultural strife have long been with us, even as it mutates and takes different forms across time/place and distinct authoritarian regimes including capitalism and communism.
In this series, by juxtaposing China, the UK, and the US (with the backdrop of colonialism and neocolonialism) he disables the move to point to the "other" (re Communist China) as the evil center of power. It's a pretty brilliant move.
No one is given a pass. He also shows that individualism and collectivism can both, in different ways, lead to social strife, anomie, terror, and so on. Again, no falling back on old tired binaries.
It's all pretty dark and pessimistic but he opened the series with a hopeful quote by @davidgraeber // I certainly hope it finishes on this note.
