I have been exploring the issue of manipulation in our daily lives for over a decade ago, and I am astonished that so little has changed over that time. This tangled web of manipulation continues to ensnare every facet of our existence, its influence creeping in like relentless rust that tarnishes everything it touches.
This insidious network extends its dark tendrils into every corner of society, from seductive advertisements crafted to ensnare the unwary to outright fabrications designed to ensnare the vulnerable. Have we truly forged ahead, or have we simply taken regressive strides? The rise of feminism stands in stark contrast to a culture marinated in narcissism, prompting a profound question: Have we transformed into a more compassionate society, one that genuinely cherishes and nurtures its citizens?
For far too long, we have been conditionally lulled into believing that the pursuit of wealth is paramount. As the affluent continue to swell their coffers, they expertly manipulate wages and exploit government entitlements, participating in a grand game where the odds are stacked against the rest of us. We are ensnared in a relentless cycle of consumption, constantly persuaded to gather possessions that clutter not just our homes but also our lives. Alarmingly, it is estimated that Australians waste a staggering three billion dollars annually on items they neither desire nor require.
Once again, I find myself drawn to the intricate web of manipulation that permeates our lives so thoroughly. It weaves itself through every aspect of our reality, from deceitful marketing tactics to outright lies that aim to cheat the unsuspecting. Have we made any real progress, or are we merely chanting a hollow mantra of advancement? The interplay between the rise of feminism and a culture steeped in self-admiration raises a challenging query: Have we genuinely evolved into a more empathetic nation, or just a society that pays lip service to the welfare of its people?
We have been deceived for too long into thinking that accumulating wealth is not only desirable but also necessary. The disheartening truths of trickle-down economics remain firmly entrenched in Australia. The rich continue to amass even more wealth, manipulating wages and exploiting governmental handouts, thriving on a system that keeps the masses in a state of perpetual striving. We are suffocated by messages urging us to consume beyond our genuine needs, leading to a shocking reality: three billion dollars wasted each year on superfluous items.
My primary concern, however, lies at the very foundation of our governance. The term ‘manipulated’ is intentional, illuminating the urgent need for us to acknowledge and confront this pervasive issue.
We exist in a world dominated by dual incomes, where marriage is on the decline and divorce rates soar, yielding bigger houses yet leaving hearts achingly empty, leading to an alarming rise in children growing up in single-parent households.
Churches, in an ironic twist, wrestle with a misguided sense of ownership over righteousness, manipulating the masses into believing that love and morality reside solely within their hallowed walls. They blind themselves to their own failings while cloaked in self-righteousness. Adding to this tragedy is the exploitation of minors by those who should be moral guardians.
In an age consumed by celebrity, we become manipulated into elevating individuals of questionable virtue and minimal talent to astronomical heights. We live in a world where fame is often awarded not for merit, but simply for notoriety, wealth, or a fleeting glimpse of influence.
Society has conditioned us into a relentless competitive mindset, causing us to forget the simple joys of laughter and community engagement. How often do we recall the neighbour’s name across the street? We have blurred the lines between courtesy and genuine civility, with our children learning the traits of narcissism from their fathers.
While remarkable progress in medicine continues, we anticipate future breakthroughs that could reshape our understanding of health. However, the larger pharmaceutical corporations manipulate access to these advances and control their prices, a truth that the Australian public is about to confront, particularly with impending tariff changes.
The arrival of artificial intelligence marks a significant turning point, insinuating itself into everyday life and shaping realities previously unimaginable. It’s already beginning to embed itself in the fabric of society, skilfully manipulating individuals while continuously evolving, blurring the lines between reality and artificial constructs.
The swift development of the COVID-19 vaccine exemplified this manipulation: the fastest breakthroughs emerged in the wealthiest nations, amplifying the existing inequities in global health access.
Yet, despite advancements, the fabric of wellness remains threadbare. Mental health issues have gained recognition, a significant step forward, but societal problems such as domestic violence have surged, where men manipulate women with deadly consequences. Despite exorbitant sums thrown at these problems, tangible solutions continue to evade us.
Women’s voices are rising in response to years of manipulation, and recent events have brought their struggles into sharp focus, but men still wield disproportionate power in shaping the world.
When I read about the success of specific individuals, their accomplishments are often measured by the value of their assets. Why is this the case?
They persist in using manipulation to maintain a façade of dominance – physically, academically, in corporate spaces, and within intimate relationships. Historical precedents of male manipulation run deep, further underlined by government incompetence.
While lifespans grow longer, happiness seems to dwindle, with mental health issues escalating into a social crisis. We find ourselves speaking endlessly without saying much of substance, drowning in a sea of words while the real problems linger unaddressed. Manipulation lurks in the shadows of our daily lives, far more pervasive than we often realise.
My thought for the day
The ability of thinking human beings to blindly embrace what they are being told without referring to evaluation and the consideration of scientific fact, truth and reason, never ceases to amaze me. It is tantamount to the rejection of rationale explanation.
Dear reader, we need your support
Independent sites such as The AIMN provide a platform for public interest journalists. From its humble beginning in January 2013, The AIMN has grown into one of the most trusted and popular independent media organisations.
One of the reasons we have succeeded has been due to the support we receive from our readers through their financial contributions.
With increasing costs to maintain The AIMN, we need this continued support.
Your donation – large or small – to help with the running costs of this site will be greatly appreciated.
You can donate through PayPal or credit card via the button below, or donate via bank transfer: BSB: 062500; A/c no: 10495969
Spot on but nothing new. See:
Guy Debord: The Society of the Spectacle
There’s lots of questions and assertions here John, all of which are perfectly valid, but I think that when we get to the age of you and I, we owe more to our kids than a “what the heck is going on?”
If we want to get to the heart of the problem we could start by looking at a financial system that has, in your words, “conditioned us into a relentless competitive mindset.”
That has given us a “tangled web of manipulation” that “continues to ensnare every facet of our existence.”
That has seen us “lulled into believing that the pursuit of wealth is paramount” and has us “ensnared in a relentless cycle of consumption”
All of the very real problems you initially outlined flow from our financial system, but you seem to accept that this system is an inevitability.
That it’s a given.
Not up for discussion.
Because you suddenly pushed the line that “My primary concern, however, lies at the very foundation of our governance.”
Our governance revolves around the financial system.
The primary function of our governance is the protection of the financial system. As we see in the operations, for example, of the Reserve Bank.
From the bank’s web-site — “There have been several changes to the roles and functions of the Reserve Bank of Australia since the 1980s, though its overall objectives have remained the same. Direct controls over banking activities gave way to market-orientated methods of implementing monetary policy.”
Market-oriented methods of implementing policy?
We all know what that means.
But it gets worse.
The official role of the Reserve Bank is “to contribute to the stability of the currency, full employment, and the economic prosperity and welfare of the Australian people. It does this by conducting monetary policy to meet an agreed inflation target, working to maintain a strong financial system and efficient payments system,…”
But in reality, the welfare of the Australian people not only takes second place to the “stability of the currency” and “a strong financial system”, the welfare of Australians is deliberately sacrificed to protect the currency and the system.
How does the Reserve Bank meet its agreed inflation target?
By manipulating interest rates. (Your article is all about manipulation John, so this should really get your dander up.)
But full employment cannot be achieved when raising interest rates to stabilise the economy results in unemployment.
Unemployment is being used to control inflation.
Do you think the manipulation can’t get any worse?
How about this.
The Reserve Bank in its wisdom has created its own definition of one of its charter requirements; full employment. From the ABC 21st March 2024 — “The RBA uses a technical and more narrow definition (than the government) : it says full employment is the level of unemployment that’s consistent with stable wage or price inflation.”
In other words, in the eyes of the Reserve Bank, full employment is not related to employment statistics.
Employment, the very fact of having a productive job that contributes not only to self-esteem but also to stable family life and healthy flourishing communities, has been reduced by the system to a mere economic indicator to be shuffled around on a whiteboard or computer model to protect the wealth of the wealthy.
The system has torn the heart out of what it is to be human.
No wonder we have problems.
And the government tolerates this.
As I said earlier, the primary function of our governance is the protection of the financial system.
So if we hope to control the manipulation that you correctly point out is dominating us from cradle to grave, we have to take back control of the financial system, because that is behind every manifestation of widespread manipulation that you have mentioned.
Thanks Xyz. I will chase it up.
Hi John,
We often underestimate how manipulation has been normalised in our society—through media, marketing, and political spin—so much so that many Australians are unaware their worldview is being shaped to serve vested interests.
I’ve written about how we’ve moved from the more community-focused values of the 1950s to an era where neoliberalism dominates—shaping our economy, education, housing, and even sense of self. The shift hasn’t just created inequality—it’s conditioned us to accept it as inevitable.
This article is a powerful reminder: awareness is the first step toward reclaiming our agency.
One of the societal problems always present in Australia is the desire to tear down “tall Poppies” regardless of inherent talent and merit. This is a throwback to colonial times when early settlers and emancipated convicts decried the pompous self serving attitudes of their “overlords”.
Thanks Dennis for your comments. It is as you say. We drifted into it through the Howard years when the economy was seen to shape our behaviour. It succeeded to the point where money became king and the building of a balanced society became secondary.
Thanks Steve . A lot to think about but l am condensing it.
All good John.
There’s an interesting article at Pearls and Irritations today in which former Malaysian P.M. Dr Mahathir has gone through a similar exercise to you, but referring to it as the collapse of civilisation.
I believe the two articles are linked by the overwhelming influence of the financial system.
https://johnmenadue.com/post/2025/07/the-collapse-of-civilisation/
The powerful language you use in describing problems suggests to me that you would not disagree with his conclusions.
Hey hey, Steve Davis and Denis Hay.Retail therapy,bling and bullshit.
We seem to reading the same stuff.
John, we have to keep in mind that the operations of the Reserve Bank are just one small factor in the manipulation that occurs in the financial system.
The manipulation is so pervasive that it could be considered as being the purpose of the system.
For example, in Australia company directors have a range of duties with which they have to comply.
One duty stands out.
“Act in good faith in the best interests of the company and for a proper purpose.”
It stands out because it means that the pursuit of profit (within legal constraints) is interpreted as being paramount.
It also stands out because no other duties are in conflict with it. The other duties are simply more detailed support versions of the first, eg, “Act with reasonable care and diligence”, and “Prevent insolvent trading.”
So although profit is not a legal requirement, the effect is similar as other considerations become minimised. Corporations can then become parasitical, as in transferring business costs to the community.
And of course this was taken to its logical conclusion in the US when Milton Friedman outlined what became known as the Friedman doctrine, also called shareholder theory. The doctrine is a theory of business ethics that holds that the social responsibility of business is to increase its profits.
This was controversial, it never became law, but its influence was significant, even after the GFC of 2008 to which it contributed.
In 2016, The Economist called shareholder theory “the biggest idea in business”, stating “today shareholder value rules business”.
In 2017, Harvard Business School professors Joseph L. Bower and Lynn S. Paine stated that maximizing shareholder value “is now pervasive in the financial community and much of the business world.”
It’s not hard to see that in economies that are lightly regulated, (most of the world) there is relentless pressure for business activity to become more and more distant from truly ethical considerations, and that this leads to many of the problems you outlined.
And we have not even touched on global finance, where ethical pressures are even further distant from the corridors of power.
Steve. Thanks for your follow ups. All worthy of further thought by me.
Thank you, John, for conveying your current time observations, I don’t believe you were offering an international fix it all regimen.
Your written article had proffered the comments by others, yet none can diminish your profound long held wisdom.
Lots of interesting dialogue has been submitted by each of the other, none of them offering the overall generality that you had encompassed in your article, through providing their alternate opinions.
Neither can one dispute that the corporation model has as its tantamount item 1 on each of today’s corporate agenda’s, the pursuit of rising profits must tower above all else. Yet I continue to live my life comfortably, well within your intellectual observations.