Corporations, of course, are self-serving capitalist for the most part. But if this is their goal, then they’re obviously not in the business of political thought control, as Hieger claims. The two interests contradict: you can’t be set on brainwashing a society’s political views while appealing to their commercial interests. Commercial appeal becomes the trump card over all else.
But I understand how easy it can be to believe corporations are practically the puppeteers of government today since this message is propagated over and over again. A look at history, however, shows that such self-serving capitalists as Benjamin Franklin (not only a businessman, but also highly involved in politics at the same time!) was pursuing American ideals -- not corrupting them. I think most people would recognize that Franklin was a positive contribution to America, not a negative one.
In the same sense, there are capitalists who are pursuing their own interests, which is an element of the American ideal called individualism. These Americans, like Franklin, tend to benefit society rather than hurt it, even if they do choose to filter which messages are expressed through the medium they own.
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