Are there chains inside our heads?

I've occasionally read something which has been a sort of 'lightbulb' moment.  One such was when I came across the idea of 'hegemony'  which describes the unquestioned world view – the reality - which we take in from birth.  It includes our beliefs and values, our ways of behaving and relating to each other and the very clothes we should wear if we are to be part of the group.

I don't want to get bogged down in the writing of Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci who came up with the idea that states use cultural messages to maintain power in society but it does help me to understand our modern world if I grasp that the domination of one group over others is achieved by the population taking on certain values and ideas.  It also explains how an economic system is able to be maintained by those who are benefiting from it even when it leads to the vast inequality, environmental destruction and poverty we see in the world today.

Our ideas come not only through advertising and tv but from so many other influences on our lives. 

Tim Jackson¹ sees the messages we are drip fed daily as crucial in determining the sort of society we create:

‘What signals do government, schools, the media, religious and community institutions send out to people? Which behaviours are supported by public investments and infrastructures and which are discouraged? Do they promote competition or co-operation? Do they reward self-serving behaviour or people who sacrifice their own gain to serve others?’

Gramsci – and many others after him – saw, and currently see, change is dependent on changing the 'cultural narrative' or, in other words, the way we see the world and our place in it

It's interesting that Gramsci came to the idea of hegemony when he was pondering why the Russian revolution had been such a long time coming when millions of peasants were living in abject poverty while a small minority elite were living in luxury. Can't help seeing something of a parallel with today's inequality.

Howard Zin, historian and writer, cut straight to the chase:

"If those in charge of our society - politicians, corporate executives, and owners of press and television - can dominate our ideas, they will be secure in their power. They will not need soldiers patrolling the streets. We will control ourselves."

1 Tim Jackson Prosperity Without Growth 2009