BoldProgressives.org has their panties in a twist (via their listserv)
BREAKING: Minutes ago, the FCC passed new rules — written by corporations — that will end Net Neutrality. For the first time in history, the U.S. government approved corporate censorship of the Internet, putting the future of online free speech at risk. Unbelievably, the person leading the charge was Obama appointee Julius Genachowski.
Hello? And what planet did you just beam down from where you were living in blissful ignorance that Obama is a not a corporatist? What I find unbelievable is that any progressive still thinks Obama is even remotely liberal or that the vote would have gone the other way. But it surely creates a fine fund-raising opportunity, howling that the barbarians are at the gates.
I don’t think the FCC decision is TEOTIAWKI. Yes the corporatists won this one and we need to keep fighting. But they also want our business. If one carrier tries to lock things down, business will just go elsewhere. It’s that competition thing. They aren’t our friend, to be sure, but they are also each other’s competitors.
The problem of and solution to corporatism is systemic. The system itself needs changing. Sure, mobilize on individual issues when you want to, but realize that even a victory is just a temporary measure until the underlying structure itself is changed. Abolishing corporate personhood would be a good start.