I'd agree there, there are a lot of similarities between the US (and to some extent Britain as well) and the onset of facism in Italy and Germany.
I think we need to get clear the definitions between what i'd call mind control and what i'd call propaganda and or the consumerising effects of capitalsm.
To me, its the difference between intmidating someone and physically tying them down. In the former you are changing them superficially and causing them to change their actions through a change in priorities. In the latter they become unable to resist.
I'd also like to point out that I don't mean this as a conspiracy theory, i think its likely that we are as free as we were before the idea of mind control was developed. But considering the various dimentions of the issue is still important.
It does seem that ground is being made on the issue of extreme persuasion, judging by the NLP community as well as works such as the February Man Sequence by Milton Erickson, and its development the October Man Sequence.
I still maintain that keeping mind controlled slaves would be economical, many of the economic costs would be severly cut. Productivity would certainly increase compared to the unmotivated slaves of past times, to such an extent that it would match or even beat free workers considering that the slaves would be committed to their task beyond what "being paid to do it" would provide. Slaves could also be kept on a simple and nutritious diet, which would greatly lower the chances of illness due to malnourishment. Without the concern for the well-being of workers who fall ill, it would be easier to keep workerds in poor conditions, as ill workers could simply be removed.