I don't know why you think this is the case; the general populace seems less submissive now than ever before. Consider how much opposition there is to Israel's bombing of Gaza among the western populace, even though almost all the elites support it. Or how the uptake rate for the latest covid vaccine boosters is under 10%, even though almost all the experts and elites support it.
I think there's a new large category of uncritically-accepted norms, perhaps much larger than expressing political opinions. I'm thinking about smartphone adoption, mass surveillance, the big yawn at NSA datacenters, the flattening and consolidation of culture (music, tv, hollywood, etc), the normalization of extreme, zero-sum thinking with regard to race, gender and inequity regardless of political affiliation -- for me, this kind of thing is more interesting than stated "beliefs", and certainly more material.
It seems unusual that there are so many frameworks, like describing computers as having "memory" (see: O'Gieblyn) or describing people as having "race", that have quietly gone from the theoretical plane, where they were useful, to being unchallenged fact. Again, this appears to be non-partisan -- and actually helps to explain some of the weirder behaviors of our markets and global politics.
it definitely means something that all that Western opposition appears, at the moment, to have zero effect on Israeli military decision-making. And who would expect it to?
It was surreal watching the news spend 5 minutes on a protest that went on all day in front of their offices.
By comparison is there a million man march against Israel today?
In that case the US was an active participant. There aren't American "boots on the ground" in Israel/Palestine, the US is just providing support.
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/28/100000-join-lo...
As indications that getting boosted and avoiding sick people, perhaps wearing a mask on the train isn't a bad idea
I'm not sure how significant either of those examples are, although I agree with your point for other reasons (mainly "Extinction Rebellion").
For Israel vs. Palestine, there is a large scale propaganda war on both sides that is, unusually, actually getting through this time. Partly because X isn't filtering such things anymore, but also propaganda is a constantly moving target.
For the latest Covid booster, while I have had the latest booster, I only know it existed because my partner already got it. No government campaign telling me about it.
Out of curiosity how has that changed McKinsey's advice?
take Auto-Tune: before it blew up, one uncritically accepted that a great sounding vocal performance was simply that. The mere existence of the tool broke a covenant with the public -- artists could assume good faith on behalf of listeners once, but no more.
Similarly, AI's chief effects are likely to be cultural first, and material second. They've already broken the "spell" of the creator. Seemingly overnight, a solution to modern malaise (choice fatigue, lack of education, suspicion of authority) has colonized the moment.
In this sense, one-percenters "seizing power forever" really have found the best possible time to do so -- I can't recall a time where the general populace was this vulnerable, ill-informed, traumatized and submissive.
That the underlying tech barely works (maybe that will change, but I predict it won't) doesn't really matter.
I don't generally support overly regulatory regimes, but in this case I think existing thinking around monopoly (particularly as it affects the psyche of the aspiring American) is sufficient to indicate something needs to happen