By Brian Carnell

Monday, July 30, 2001

Michael Moore recently gave an interview to Murmurs.Com which reveals just how statist some elements of the American Left have become. After claiming that "we're in the dark ages in this country right now," Moore offers his solution.

We are the only country in the whole world without dominant state-controlled media. In a democracy, the state is supposed to be the people. So if it's truly the people, I'd rather run the risk of a government truly run by the people than a corporation doing it.

What we should have is a country like the UK, which has the BBC, not run for profit. In France, state-run TV, state-run radio. new bands, new music and new forces are on these stations, not huge profit-makers, because they are presented as something new.

Even if you disagree with him, you have to appreciate Moore's willingness to endorse the worst sort of democratic totalitarianism: in a democracy the state is the people, so how could anybody object to the state running things?

Of course Moore manages to inadvertently provide the counter argument to allowing democratic means to control media. Moore is apparently angry that his books, movies, and television shows haven't been more popular with Americans. Rather than take a second and consider that just maybe he's not all that interesting anymore ("Canadian Bacon," for example, outright sucked), he chooses to blame the Right, saying, "Other cultures that haven't had the Moral Majority suppression have moved their culture forward. We haven't."

But this is exactly the problem with state-run media. Moore wants this sort of system -- as do others on the Left -- because he assumes that it will be run by like minded Lefties. In fact, it is just as likely to be run by Right wing ideologues. After all, many Leftists already consider heavily government subsidized media such as the Public Broadcasting System or National Public Radio to be mouthpieces of The System. But nationalizing media even further would somehow produce a Leftist media utopia? How does that follow?

The lack of intensive government intervention in speech in the United States certainly has not guaranteed Leftist books, magazines and movies instant popularity, but it has guaranteed that they are widely available where in other countries the state would intervene to actively suppress controversial claims (including France and Great Britain where books that hold the wrong views are subject to state censorship).

It's a shame that some on the Left would have the United States follow in their footsteps.

Source:

Moore Questions. Murmurs.Com, July 19, 2001.

Discuss (0 Replies) | Printer Friendly