AUTONOMY AND DUPLICITY: REPLY TO DECANIO

While Samuel DeCanio is correct to maintain that the state has considerable autonomy due to the public's vast ignorance of the government's affairs, he neglects to consider that the public's ignorance also stems from the deceptions of the politically powerful, who withhold and distort information in a variety of ways. This can take the form of outright lies; anonymous leaks; press and video releases that don't mention the originating group or its interests; giving reporters access to otherwise inaccessible information, so that they will report favorably on a certain program or event; publicity stunts from groups as far afield as nasa and the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority; or the financing of periodicals that are sympathetic towards one's cause. State autonomy induced by public ignorance may thus be generated by the state itself.