My interpretation of this song is that it is commenting on how old-world colonialism by countries such as France and the UK, is still occurring today under a different guise; capitalism and globalisation.
Rather than accusing a specific country of this new "neo-colonialism" though, he accuses the corporations of acting like the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés. They enter 'developing countries', "[force] participation in the sewer of commerce", in a trade-off of their "precious raw materials" that is uneven to the wealth they accrue in the deal.
That’s the surface interpretation I get from it anyway. I'd go so far as to say that he believes that this state of affairs is veiled colonialism which uses clever public relations and media spin (such as offering a "goddamn IMF loan").
"Oh my god we've been convinced that the stranglehold of corporations can somehow safely coexist with our notions of participation."
Its all about making it appear that we have participation, while subliminally subverting us in the process. A think it was Chomsky who said something along the lines of 'the worlds most notorious totalitarian states gasp in wonder at how countries such as the United States control their populations without firing a single bullet'.
My interpretation of this song is that it is commenting on how old-world colonialism by countries such as France and the UK, is still occurring today under a different guise; capitalism and globalisation.
Rather than accusing a specific country of this new "neo-colonialism" though, he accuses the corporations of acting like the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés. They enter 'developing countries', "[force] participation in the sewer of commerce", in a trade-off of their "precious raw materials" that is uneven to the wealth they accrue in the deal.
That’s the surface interpretation I get from it anyway. I'd go so far as to say that he believes that this state of affairs is veiled colonialism which uses clever public relations and media spin (such as offering a "goddamn IMF loan").
"Oh my god we've been convinced that the stranglehold of corporations can somehow safely coexist with our notions of participation."
Its all about making it appear that we have participation, while subliminally subverting us in the process. A think it was Chomsky who said something along the lines of 'the worlds most notorious totalitarian states gasp in wonder at how countries such as the United States control their populations without firing a single bullet'.