Bernard Lietaer - The Future of Money - Full Book

inform or report on what happens, but rather to shape public opinion in accordance with the agendas of the prevailing corporate powers.

As the last Prime Minister of the UK observed, because the corporate world was also controlling the content of the media it was able to neutralise any compensating power that the media might otherwise have provided. As a result 'Virtually everywhere the mass media provide people primarily with commercial messages ... It is hard to discover in most of today's news media the kind of information that would help citizens of democratic societies to reach well-informed political decisions ... The media have been called "Weapons of Mass Distraction".

Advertising Everywhere Advertising is ubiquitous, to the point of being the cultural expression of our times. We have become accustomed to being bombarded with ads as we watch a TV programme or even movies and videos. Here are some other spaces mat used to be ad-free but will not remain so: 路 Giant labels on clothing transform their wearers into free billboard walkers. 路 Fruit Label Company, based in California, has started placing ads on fruit: me video-release of Jurassic Park will be accompanied by little ad labels on 12 million Granny Smith and Fuji apples in supermarkets across America. The possibilities are endless: labelling lemons with 'if you don't want a lemon, buy a Ford', or fresh tomatoes with Campbell Soup stickers. 路 Another promising new advertising medium is the beach, where for $25,000 per month a message is inscribed every day in gigantic lettering in the sand. Credit is given for rainy days because 'fewer people will be exposed to the ad',