x-punk
16th July 2012, 12:21
This is just a slightly random thought that occurred to me and I thought I would get your views on it.
As things are just now, the most popular people (film actors, popular musical band members, footballers etc) not only tend to accumulate vast amounts of wealth (which gives them leverage in a capitalist society) but they are also very influencial and many people regard their opinions highly just because of their wealth, popularity and status. A good example would be someone like Bono or Sting speaking out on environmental issues. Moreover, the majority of these 'stars' certainly seem to support a capitalist system or at least I havnt heard many speaking out against it.
Do you think this could be a problem in a communist society? I appreciate the accumulation of wealth being an influencing factor wouldnt be an issue but there are still going to be certain people who gain more popularity through increased public exposure. Is it not a case that many of them may push for a return to capitalism because it suits their own agenda i.e. they would have more power over others because they could accumulate larger quantities of wealth due to their popularity.
I understand this wouldnt be applicable to all, but is it not often the case those that tend to strive for popularity and status are often those that want power and control over others. Thus they set their sights towards achieving popularity in order to gain a mechanism for influence and control.
As things are just now, the most popular people (film actors, popular musical band members, footballers etc) not only tend to accumulate vast amounts of wealth (which gives them leverage in a capitalist society) but they are also very influencial and many people regard their opinions highly just because of their wealth, popularity and status. A good example would be someone like Bono or Sting speaking out on environmental issues. Moreover, the majority of these 'stars' certainly seem to support a capitalist system or at least I havnt heard many speaking out against it.
Do you think this could be a problem in a communist society? I appreciate the accumulation of wealth being an influencing factor wouldnt be an issue but there are still going to be certain people who gain more popularity through increased public exposure. Is it not a case that many of them may push for a return to capitalism because it suits their own agenda i.e. they would have more power over others because they could accumulate larger quantities of wealth due to their popularity.
I understand this wouldnt be applicable to all, but is it not often the case those that tend to strive for popularity and status are often those that want power and control over others. Thus they set their sights towards achieving popularity in order to gain a mechanism for influence and control.