h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

but we are moving that way

"However on reflection, the part played by the church in feudal times is now largely played by the mass media. And that institution is pretty awful in the both countries, but IMO better in the UK where the BBC competes on quality and isn't answerable to advertisers."

I think this whole "media is the new church" is an idea that appeals to the liberal middle-classes who like to see the working-class as some poor, uneducated mass who can't think for themselves and need the tabloid newspapers and junk TV to do it for them. I think that's something of a myth.

Regarding British Media, the BBC is really just the best of a bad bunch. It still has some issues, not least a slight political bias (which, it has to be said, is not really noticable in most of it's news output, despite what it's detractors claim). It's certainly preferable to the media-mogul controlled outlets.

A feudal society was one in which the lord recieved land in exchange for military service. Sark today isn't really feudal, just behind the times.

Whatever its faults modern American isn't feudal. Those lords didn't have to spend 2 years out of 4 conning people into voting for them. The nearest we have to a feudal society we have now would be Afghanistan and I wouldn't want to live there so I'd say no to the original question.

"I think this whole "media is the new church" is an idea that appeals to the liberal middle-classes who like to see the working-class as some poor, uneducated mass who can't think for themselves and need the tabloid newspapers and junk TV to do it for them. I think that's something of a myth."

Not at all, I think, like Chomsky, that the middle classes are just as indoctrinated.

As for the BBC, it provides this .

"I think this whole "media is the new church" is an idea that appeals to the liberal middle-classes who like to see the working-class as some poor, uneducated mass who can't think for themselves and need the tabloid newspapers and junk TV to do it for them."

Not liberal middle-classes... upper classes, liberal and conservative both. The conservatives are happy to employ them at minimum wage but seek to crush their forms of self-expression... the liberals try too hard to spoon-feed them, and end up shoving the spoon up their nose.

And yes, the middle-class is indoctrinated. It happens at the university.