First the good news: The two great dystopian visions of the 20th century are no longer competing for our minds and souls. It’s no longer Huxley versus Orwell, no longer the dream state of soma versus the iron boot of Big Brother. And now the bad news: Today, in what I call the Great Age of Mediation, there’s only Huxwell.

Today, in the early 21st century, there’s no practical distinction between the ruling elite in Washington, D.C., the ruling elite on Wall Street, and the ruling elite of the media and entertainment industries. All are entrenched entitlement cultures, and all are incestuous, populated by the very same guys at different stages of their careers. Now there’s only Huxwell.

We no longer control the essential dialogs of our lives, because all of our essential dialogs are controlled by the media and we no longer control the media in our lives. Quite the contrary, the media control us. They control us by definition because we are irrefutably addicted to them.

The media keep us sedated and amused while our elected leaders and the private interests that own them steal us blind. They have to; big media cost big money, and drugs are expensive. From now until election day on November 6th, 2012, American political candidates of all persuasions and all parties will need to raise an estimated 3-4 billion dollars to secure their political futures. Almost all of that money will be spent on the toxic campaign media that you and I will consume each and every day ad nauseum for the next 18 months. Not to worry, however. In exchange for our fealty to all things media, we get the best government our money can buy. In the Great Age of Mediation we’ve turned control of our futures over to the biggest dealers on the block — the exact same folks who so successfully fight the War Against Drugs.

First the good news: There’s only one Huxwell. And now the bad news: He’s on every channel and there’s no off button.

Jeff Einstein

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