I’ve always had a soft spot for old propaganda posters. Showing this idealised image of what might be, our real potential as humans. All while simply acting as a front for darker forces who routinely have keept a lot more for themselves than what could be spent to build a better tomorrow for everyone. Lies disguised as the future we all really want to believe can become a reality.
I’m less enthusiastic about our current propaganda machines who are mainly serving the public new lies and stoking fears for their equals. The game is rigged.
This a design from a Soviet-era poster from the 1930s, simplified in my version, while keeping the main characters. They are cracking down on overproduction, exeeding the volumes as set forth in the 5-year plans. This overproduction was being sold on the black market, outside of approved channels, to line the pockets of profiteers. It was a real bad word too, profiteers.
Now, the Soviets never managed to regulate or control their markets by decree, but the western model of unfettered capitalism is also breaking down before our eyes.
Maybe time to try a middle ground again where we focus on society as a whole?
Created with Affinity Designer on iPad. The text (I have been told by the Modern Museum in Stockholm) translates roughly to “Strike back against fake shock-workers!” This was a term used for producers who kept their production lines going beyond planned volumes.