Totalitarianism (American style)

Tell me folks: how does the traditional definition of Totalitarianism differ from Consumerism?

from Wikipedia:

Totalitarianism (or totalitarian rule) is a concept used to describe political systems whereby a state regulates nearly every aspect of public and private life. Totalitarian regimes or movements maintain themselves in political power by means of:

• An official all-embracing ideology and propaganda disseminated through the state-controlled mass media
  
• A single party that controls the state
  
• Personality cults
  
• Control over the economy
  
• Regulation and restriction of free discussion and criticism
  
• The use of mass surveillance
  Widespread use of state terrorism

Consumerism refers to economic policies placing emphasis on consumption. In an abstract sense, it is the belief that the free choice of consumers should dictate the economic structure of a society. (cf. Producerism, especially in the British sense of the term)

In modern America, economic ideologies have been substituted for the overtly political ideologies to produce a kind of neo-Totalitarianism.

Don't believe it?

• An official all-embracing ideology and propaganda disseminated through the state-controlled mass media - In America, we call this "advertising" disseminated through privately held mass media
  
• A single party that controls the state - In America, we call this "Big Business" controlling the economy
  
• Personality cults - In America, we call these "Brands" used by lifestyle marketing as a means of meeting the artificially created interests, needs, desires, and values of the consumer population
  
• Control over the economy - In America, this falls under the realm of our financial institutions. Our recent bubble economy was driven by the business and consumer credit controlled by various financial entities
  
• Regulation and restriction of free discussion and criticism - In America, we call this the "chilling effect"
  
• The use of mass surveillance - In America, we call this "Market Research"
  
• Widespread use of state terrorism - In America, this last piece of the Totalitarian puzzle is supplied by the culture of fear necessary to sustain economic bubbles. The artificial desires created through lifestyle marketing have at their core the individual need for identity and the fear generated by the gap between perception and reality.

Just as our foreign policy under the last administration was based on fear of the "other", lifestyle marketing exploits the need most people have to pursue the vision of who they would like to be, while distancing themselves from who they feel they are not. In a Consumerist Totalitarian system, who needs religious or political dogma? When you can sell an illusion for a fraction of the cost of the reality, you've struck gold.


- V.