Corporations and Democracy interviews Chris Hedges on spectacle and democracy

The most recent edition of Corporations and Democracy features AfD members Tom Wodetzski and Toni Rizzo interviewing Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author Chris Hedges. Hedges's new book is Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle.

In the book and in this wide-ranging conversation, Hedges examines commodity culture and the "cult of the self" and sees in it the roots of an illogical, unreflective society which is without compassion and ill-equipped to deal with environmental and economic challenges. Compounding the problem: liberal moral bankruptcy, a corporate media, the fading of print-based society, growing de facto and functional illiteracy. Totalitarian societies, say Hedges, are built around image and spectacle, and the health care debate and media focus on the fringe is an example. Will we learn to "grow up" and build a movement or will we turn to "saviors and demagogues?"

The comments by call-ins are terrific as well.

The sound quality at the beginning of the recording is a little rough this week due to some technical difficulties!