RULING POWER

In the Matrix, humans are suspended in sacs of a fetal nature and fed ‘reality’ through a computer system. Their perception of the world is directly supplied by the robots in charge. This system allows people to be aware of what they are comfortable with and oblivious to those things that could cause them to be nervous or distressed about the world around them. Unfortunate things do happen within the Matrix because a ‘perfect’ world would cause alarm and lead to the search for knowledge or truth. In my opinion many current social structures do parallel the ideology laid out in the Matrix.
Every established country with a stable government has a ruling class that most likely includes corporate and government officials. It seems that Marx was right in that the people who own the resources (income producing property) control the system. According to G. William Domhoff the power elite are people who have high-level jobs in institutions controlled by members of the upper class. The positions these people hold are also an important aspect of their ruling power. Along with the economic resources, the power to rule is passed down like a family heirloom. I do not believe that the upper class minority has the same needs, desires or goals as the average working class person. The ruling class most likely has goals of keeping and expanding their own power and profit. The average person’s goals may include being economically comfortable, having adequate health care, and having rights and choices.
Through economic control the ruling class within a social structure has gained the power to provide the rest of society with a perception of the world or ‘reality’. The power elite of the ruling class distort the lower classes’ perceptions through the presentation of information and claims of cultural values. Basically, they tell us what they want us to hear. The ruling class gives us the impression that they are trying to help us reach our goals. The same is true in the presentation of global conflict. The ruling class may have alternative motives in conflicts with other social structures, but they reveal to the general public only information that will lead to support of their goal. An example of information misrepresentation is that the news reporter may spit out a death toll, but graphic footage of the situation is not shown. If the information we get about the world situation is from the news (T.V./paper/radio) then it has been altered by the ruling class.
If we are to find truth and knowledge about the state of the world today we must stop believing everything the ruling class tells us. We must critically consider information from a variety of resources. My hope is that through this class I will be able to evaluate the information I receive through the mass media and find other forms of gaining information. I want to be able to explore the causes of conflict and its effect on all of us.