The Betrayal of Words

'''Galeano, Eduardo. "The Betrayal of Words."' The Upside-Down World column, The Progressive'' June 2002: 12-13.

In the century since Sigmund Freud learned from Jean-Martin Charcot that "Ideas can be planted in the human mind by hypnotism. […] The technology of manipulation has come a long way. A gigantic Machine the size of the planet orders us to repeat the messages it puts in our heads. It is a Machine for the betrayal of the meaning of words." In EG's essay, the world-machine image refers to all-encompassing power, as usual, but primarily power over the meaning of words. Cf. George Orwell and more recent theorizing by F. Jameson and others on hegemonic discourse.

RDE, Title, 27Aug19