This is nothing new but it bears repeating. The essence of capitalism isn't about the exchange of goods and services; the central characteristic of capitalism is lies. Lies, misrepresentation, falsehoods, inflated description, and positive spin are necessary manifestations of capitalist culture. We just take it for granted that the seller will seek the most positive description of their product and the buyer will have to minutely scrutinize the object and description for exaggeration.

The propaganda is that competition will lower prices and increase quality. I would posit this only happens at a very specific period near the beginning of a product life. After that, maintaining profitability is the chief goal. At a certain point, prices will never significantly go down and quality will become increasingly shoddy.

It might be argued that capitalism's biggest sell is itself. Think a moment about this: Practically every source of current news and information comes to you from a capitalist enterprise. Do we think that the information might be tainted by this? Do we think that the facts might be skewed or influenced by the advertising which is the lifeblood of networks, newspapers, and weekly news magazines?

No conclusion. I don't have a solution. I'm just trying to be aware of the bias of news. Some people worry about the "liberal" media, a concept so laughable I forgot to laugh. I worry more about the all pervasive and omnipresent influence of capitalism seeking to protect itself.