Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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COLIN TODHUNTER describes how corporate and government PR helps hide capitalism’s crimes and distracts us from seeking emancipatory change
[Pic: John Henderson/Creative Commons]
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
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NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
THE FATHER of modern public relations and spin Edward Bernays was a cold, cynical manipulator of mass perception.
He knew that, by shaping people’s desires in a certain way, governments and corporations could sell just about any notion to the masses and manipulate them at will.
Whether it was whipping up fear about the bogeyman of communism or selling the “American Dream” through consumerism, Bernays and the public relations/advertising industry did exactly that.
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