To the People Who Live in Darkness
The battle to shape and control people’s minds is waged aggressively and forcefully by elites. Big bucks go toward molding the consciousness of working people. Antonio Gramsci, the great Italian Marxist and an influence on Michael Parenti, advocated for what he called “organic intellectuals,” i.e., a well-educated cadre who connects their knowledge with people and popular organizations. Parenti exemplifies this approach. Convincing people as to what their genuine self-interests are is difficult, Parenti argues, because of sustained propaganda to divert their attention by getting them to look down at those who are worse off, and blame them, and away from the ruling class, their real oppressors. How to break through and get to the people who live in darkness? Parenti says, through “dialogue, debate, transparency and democracy.”
Speaker
Michael Parenti
Michael Parenti was a leading independent political analyst, scholar, and author. Cornel West called him “a towering prophetic voice.” He taught at major colleges and universities in the U.S. and abroad. He is the author of numerous books, including Democracy for the Few, Power and the Powerless, and Against Empire. He passed away on January 24, 2026, at the age of 92.
Questioning the Unquestionable
“It is not demanded of readers that they embrace my views, but that they reflect upon their own. How seldom we bother to explore in some critical fashion the fundamental preconceptions that shape our understanding of social and political life. How frequently, as if by reflex rather than reflection, we respond to certain cues and incantations, resisting any incongruous notion. Our opinions shelter and support us; it is an excruciating effort to submit them to reappraisal. Yet if we are to maintain some pretense at being rational creatures, we must risk the discomfiture that comes with questioning the unquestionable, and try to transcend our tendencies toward mental confinement.” – Michael Parenti
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