The alienation of people is the main weapon used by the holders of the means of production and political power to prevent public awareness of the economic and political serfdom in which it is subjected and it results in the rebellion against the inhuman economic and political systems in force. Jean-François Brient, French, professor of literature, history and Latin, is author of the documentary Modern Serfdom whose text is presented in the article with the same title available on the website <http: />. This article, a summary of which is presented in the paragraphs below, is a libel or denunciation against the execrable political, economic and social system we live in the world that leads to serfdom of man.

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MODERN TOTALITARIANISM AND HUMAN SERFDOM
Fernando Alcoforado *
The alienation of people is the main weapon used by the holders of the means of
production and political power to prevent population awareness of the economic and
political serfdom in which she is subjected and it results in the rebellion against the
inhuman economic and political systems in force. Jean-François Brient, French,
professor of literature, history and Latin, is author of the documentary Modern Serfdom
whose text is presented in the article with the same title available on the website
<http://www.delaservitudemoderne.org/texto- po.html>. This article, a summary of
which is presented in the paragraphs below, is a libel or denunciation against the
execrable political, economic and social system we live in the world that leads to
serfdom of man. In Chapter I (epigraph), the author claims to have "the certainty that
this civilization will crumble and what it does to drag us in his fall".
In Chapter II (A voluntary serfdom), Jean-François Brient says that modern serfdom is a
voluntary slavery, accepted by that crowd of slaves that crawl the Earth. They
themselves choose the masters whom shall serve. For this absurd tragedy could be
successful, it had to remove human beings the ability to become aware of the
exploitation and alienation they suffer. Today we are faced with completely enslaved
human beings who do not understand what is happening, or rather who are unable to
understand the reality in which they live. Accept without question the pitiful life that
was planned for them. So here is the nightmare of modern slaves who get carried away
by the macabre dance of prevailing alienation system. Oppression modernizes extending
all over the world forms of mystification that allow conceal our condition as slaves.
In Chapter III (A territorial organization and habitat), Jean-François Brient says that as
man builds his world with the force of alienated labor, the scene of this world with its
chaotic territorial organization becomes the prison where he will have to live. This
scenario is in eternal construction. Nothing in it is stable. It is doing all the system
image: the world becomes each day increasingly dirty and noisy, like a factory. The
world must be transformed into a huge highway, rationalized to the extreme, to facilitate
the transport of goods. Every obstacle, human or natural, must be destroyed. The
environment where crowds this servile mass is a true reflection of his life: resembling
cages, the prisons, the caves. But unlike the slaves and prisoners of the past, explored in
modern times must pay for his cage.
In Chapter IV (The goods), the author states that is in this narrow and dismal place
where the modern slave builds new goods which should, according to the omnipresent
advertising, bring his happiness and fulfillment. But the more there is accumulation of
goods plus the modern slave away from the opportunity to be happy. The merchandise,
ideological in essence, divests of his work whom produces the goods and divests of his
life whom consumes the goods. In the dominant economic system, is no longer demand
that determines the offer, but the offer that determines the demand. So, periodically,
needs arise that are quickly regarded as vital to the majority of the population: first was
the radio after the car, the television, the computer and now the mobile phone.
In Chapter V (The feeding), Jean-François Brient says that, it is when it feeds the
modern slave illustrates the state of decay in which he lies. Disposing an increasingly
limited time to prepare the food that he consumes, he is forced to swallow fast what the
agrochemical industry produces. Plenty of food products conceal its degradation and

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falsification. Not more than genetically modified organisms, a mixture of dyes and
preservatives, pesticides, hormones and many other inventions of modernity. But while
most of the world's population lives in poverty a minority enjoys a frantic consumerism.
Misery is everywhere ruled by totalitarian mercantile society.
In Chapter VI (The destruction of the environment), the author states that the exhaustion
of the planet's natural resources, abundant energy production or goods, trash and waste
from conspicuous consumption jeopardize the possibility of survival of mankind and
other living beings that inhabit the Earth. However, to leave free rein to barbaric
capitalism, economic growth should never stop. It has to produce, produce and
reproduce more. And are the same pollutants that present themselves today as potential
saviors of the planet. Multinational companies try to convince us that a simple change in
our habits would be enough to save the planet from disaster. Meanwhile, they continue
polluting without ceasing our environment. But never propose a radical change in the
production system. It is, as ever, to change some details so that everything remains as
before.
Chapter VII (The work), Jean-François Brient says that to enter the wave of frenzied
consumption, we must have money and to get money, it's needed to work, ie selling our
labor power. The dominant system did of the work of the modern slave their primary
source for the extraction of profit. And the modern slaves must work harder and longer
to pay credit your life miserable. They are exhausted from working so hard, lose most of
their energy and have to endure the worst humiliations. They spend all their life
performing a strenuous and insidious activity that is profitable only to the holders of the
means of production. What would do the modern slaves without this torture that is the
work? And are these alienating activities that are presented as liberators. The scientific
organization of work constitutes the real essence of worker expropriation, is the fruit of
their labor, but also the time they spend in the automatic production of goods or
services.
In Chapter VIII (The colonization of all sectors of life), Jean-François Brient says that
the production system colonizes every sector of life. At no time in their daily lives, the
modern slave escapes the influence of the system that is part of every moment of his
life. It is a slave full time. In Chapter IX (The commercial medicine), the author states
that the origin of the evils of the modern slave is in widespread degradation of their
environment, that is, the air we breathe, the food we consumes and the stress caused by
our working conditions. As turned every detail of our world in mere commodity, the
current system did, too, of our body a commodity, an object of study and experience to
commercial medicine. The owners of the world are ready to patent living beings. The
complete sequence of the human genome DNA is the starting point of a new strategy
put into action by those in power. After all, our body also ceases to belong to us.
In Chapter X (The obedience as a second nature), the author states that the human being
is already accustomed to always obey. Obedience has become second nature of human
being. He obeys without knowing for what reason, simply because he knows he must
obey. Obey, produce and consume, behold, there the three requirements that affect our
lives. Obeys up to parents, teachers, bosses, owners, merchants, also follow-laws, the
police and all sorts of powers, because he cannot do something else. There isn´t
something that gives more afraid than disobedience, since to disobey, to adventure, to
change, is very risky. It is fear that made us slaves and it keeps us in this condition.

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Lowered our head forward to the masters of the world, we accept this life of humiliation
and misery only by fear.
In Chapter XI (The repression and violence), Jean-François Brient says that there are
still individuals that escape the control of their conscience, but are under surveillance.
Every act of rebellion or resistance is actually treated as a subversive or terrorist
activity. Freedom only exists for those who defend the commercial imperatives. And the
silence of the majority of slaves facing this repression makes the media to deny this
conflict in today's society. In Chapter XII (The money), Jean-François Brient states that,
like all oppressed human beings in history, the modern slave needs its mysticism and its
god to anesthetize the evil that torments him and the suffering that suffocates him. But
this new god, to whom gave his soul, is nothing more nor less than the money. In the
name of this new god he studies, he works, he fights and sold. In the name of this new
god that humans abandoned their values and is willing to do anything. He believes that
the more money he has more be free of problems within which it is trapped. As if the
possession of money walked hand in hand with freedom.
In Chapter XIII (There is no alternative in the dominant social organization), Jean-
François Brient says that the modern slave is convinced that there is no alternative to the
organization that prevails in the world today. He resigned himself to this life because he
thinks there may be another model of organization of society. And it's right there which
is the strength of this domination: create the illusion that system that colonized the
entire face of the Earth is the best that humanity has ever built in terms of social
organization. Convinced that human beings to adapt to their ideology is how to adapt to
the world as shown and as ever. Dreaming of another world became a crime
unanimously criticized by the media and public authorities.
In Chapter XIV (The image), the author states that, compared to the devastation of the
real world, it is necessary that the current system colonize the consciousness of slaves.
That is why the ruling system, the forces of repression are preceded by deterrence,
which since childhood, realizes its work training slaves. The human being enslaved
should forget his servile status, his arrest, and his life miserable. Just look at this crowd
mesmerized front of television screens that accompany their daily lives. The holders of
economic and political power deceive the modern slaves selling the idea that they can
dream of a better future made of money, glory and adventure. There are images for
everyone and everywhere. These images carry with them the ideological message of
modern society and serves as an instrument of unification and propaganda. They will
grow as man is dispossessed of his world and his life.
Also in Chapter XIV, Jean-François Brient says that children are the first victims of
these television images, because it is stifling freedom from the cradle. It needs to make
them stupid and take them all capacity for reflection and criticism. All this is, of course,
is done with the disconcerting complicity of parents who do not even seek to resist
opposite the impressive strength of all modern means of communication. Parents leave
the alienating and mediocre system is responsible for their children's education. There
are images for all ages and all social classes. It appeals to the lowest instincts to sell any
merchandise. And is the woman doubly slave of today's society, which pays the highest
price. She is presented as a mere object of consumption. The image is still, to this day,
the form of more direct and more effective communication: it creates models, alienates
the masses, mind, and promotes frustrations. Diffuses the mercantile ideology by the

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image, because the goal remains the same: to sell, life models or products, behaviors or
commodities.
In Chapter XV (The amusement), Jean-François Brient says that humans have several
options for amusement, but that amusement only serves to distract them from the real
problems that affect them. Like the emperors of ancient Rome bought the allegiance of
the people with bread and games nowadays is with amusement as, for example, the
mediatized sport, which buys the silence of modern slaves. In Chapter XVI (Language),
Jean-François Brient states that the control of consciences passes essentially addicted by
using the language used by economy and socially dominant class. Being the holder of
all the media, the owners of power spread the mercantile ideology through petrified
definition, partial and false that they give the words. Words are presented as neutral and
their definition as evident. However, being under the control of power, language always
designates something very different from real life. It is primarily a language of
resignation and impotence, the language of passive acceptance of things as they are and
should remain as such. The problem of language is at the heart of the struggle for
human emancipation. For a radical change to happen, we need a language advocate of
the emancipation of human beings that is opposed to the dominant language that leads
to their serfdom.
In Chapter XVII (The illusion of voting and parliamentary democracy), the author states
that modern slaves still see themselves as citizens. They believe that actually vote and
decide freely who will defend their interests. As if they still had a choice, just kept the
illusion. In parliamentary democracy, the modern slaves have the illusion that they can
choose themselves the master whom they should serve. In practice, there is no
opposition to the "status quo" as the dominant political parties agree on the essential that
is the conservation of the present mercantile society. There are no political parties likely
to come to power who doubt the market dogma. And it is these parties that with media
complicity monopolize appearances. The parliamentary and representative way that
usurps the name of democracy limits the power of citizens for the simple right to vote,
that is, nothing. The seats in parliament are occupied by the vast majority of the
dominant economic class, be it right or of the desired left social democratic.
In Chapter XVIII (The totalitarian mercantile system), Jean-François Brient states that
the dominant system is defined by the omnipresence of its mercantile ideology which
occupies at the same time all the space and all sectors of life. This ideology says nothing
more than, produce, sell, consume, accumulate! It reduced all human relations into
commodity relations and considers our planet as a mere commodity. The duty imposed
on us is the servile work. The only right that it recognizes is the right to private
property. The only god it worships is money. The omnipresence of ideology, the
worship of money, the one disguised party parliamentary pluralism, the lack of a visible
opposition and repression in all its forms against the will to transform the man and the
world. This is the true face of modern totalitarianism that is called "liberal democracy"
which, however, we must call it by its real name: the totalitarian mercantile system. The
man, the society and the whole of our planet serve this ideology. The totalitarian
mercantile system accomplished what no totalitarianism could do before: unify the
world in his own image. Today there is no longer possible exile.
In Chapter XIX (perspective), Jean-François Brient says that as oppression spans all
sectors of life, the possibility of revolt acquires aspect of civil war on a national and
global scale. The destruction of the totalitarian mercantile society is an absolute

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necessity in a world that is condemned already. Riots reborn everywhere in the world
and announce the coming revolution. But for this revolt leads to a victorious revolution,
we need to raise awareness and formulate a new alternative model of society to inhuman
current model. For Jean-François Brient the current model must be destroyed.
What has just been described in the paragraphs above makes evident the urgent need to
combat modern slavery that all mankind is subject triggering at global scale the fight
against globalized modern totalitarianism that proves to be the greatest enemy of all
peoples of the world. One fact is indisputable: without the collapse of modern
totalitarianism at the national and global scale, will not overcome problems affecting the
human being in every single country.

Fernando Alcoforado, member of the Bahia Academy of Education, engineer and doctor of Territorial
Planning and Regional Development from the University of Barcelona, a university professor and
consultant in strategic planning, business planning, regional planning and planning of energy systems, is
the author of Globalização (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1997), De Collor a FHC- O Brasil e a Nova
(Des)ordem Mundial (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1998), Um Projeto para o Brasil (Editora Nobel, São
Paulo, 2000), Os condicionantes do desenvolvimento do Estado da Bahia (Tese de doutorado.
Universidade de Barcelona, http://www.tesisenred.net/handle/10803/1944, 2003), Globalização e
Desenvolvimento (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 2006), Bahia- Desenvolvimento do Século XVI ao Século XX
e Objetivos Estratégicos na Era Contemporânea (EGBA, Salvador, 2008), The Necessary Conditions of
the Economic and Social Development-The Case of the State of Bahia (VDM Verlag Dr. Muller
Aktiengesellschaft & Co. KG, Saarbrücken, Germany, 2010), Aquecimento Global e Catástrofe
Planetária (P&A Gráfica e Editora, Salvador, 2010), Amazônia Sustentável- Para o progresso do Brasil e
combate ao aquecimento global (Viena- Editora e Gráfica, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, São Paulo, 2011),
Os Fatores Condicionantes do Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2012) and
Energia no Mundo e no Brasil- Energia e Mudança Climática Catastrófica no Século XXI (Editora CRV,
Curitiba, 2015).