THE FUTURE OF MONEY Bernard A. Lietaer - library.uniteddiversity ...

He continued, 'The turning point for the media was when they
discovered that what people really want is to be distracted from
reality. So news increasingly became entertainment. I am willing to
bet that more of the footage shot by NewsCorp at tonight's riots is
going to be used as an insert for the latest episode of their series on
Cybercops and Robbers, rather than in the news report. Business
reports and entertainment news have gradually replaced coverage of
political issues. Turnout at elections has sunk to 596. My government
has less legitimacy than a tinpot dictatorship. When I tried to push
through a law ordering the de-merger of NewsCorp and the BBC,
people just laughed. The only option left was to just wind the whole
thing down.
'Not everything is bad, of course. Other institutions, some highprofile
charities, museums, universities, have done rather wall under
the new regime. Most workers work from home, or from somewhere
more pleasant than big cities. London has been shrinking for almost a
century now, and telecommuting gave the final push to the exodus.
The streets are mostly filled with tourists. The Palace of Westminster
will remain a grand old building though, now that it is an indoor
park, since Disney refurbished it with me perfect theme. As the
brochure says, “Representative Government as it was: from the
Magna Carta to the year 2000". They take the usual liberties with the
historical facts and emphasise only the most exciting episodes. But I
do feel left out - they stopped the clock at the year 2000 because it
made marketing easier.
'Yes, the buildings will be all right. But what about the people? It
wasn't that the mega-corporations were treating them badly. In many
ways, being a citizen of Goldman Sachs or Chrysler-Daimler-Benz
had more advantages than being a British or German-American
citizen. Certain kinds of employees are thriving like the royalty of the
past. The City is paying massive salaries to those with the right skills.