Edward Bernays: Know who he was? He knew a lot about us and how we think. He was the father of propaganda. He studied crowd-psychology and how to manipulate the minds of the masses. After he discovered that Joseph Goebbels was using his work in Nazi Germany, he re-branded "propaganda," later renaming it: "Public Relations." Certainly everyone is familiar with that term.
Here are some of Bernays' own explanations of propaganda and how it works:
"The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country... Our invisible governors are, in many cases, unaware of the identity of their fellow members in the inner cabinet...
They govern us by their qualities of natural leadership, their ability to supply needed ideas and by their key position in the social structure. Whatever attitude one chooses toward this condition, it remains a fact that in almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by a relatively small number of persons-a trifling fraction of our hundred and twenty million-who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind, who harness old social forces and contrive new ways to bind and guide the world...
The systematic study of mass psychology revealed to students the potentialities of invisible government of society by the manipulation of motives which actuate man in the group. Trotter and Le Bon, who approached the subject in a scientific manner, and Graham Wallas, Walter Lippmann, and others who continued with searching studies of the group mind, established that the group has mental characteristics distinct from those of the individual, and is motivated by impulses and emotions which cannot be explained on the basis of what we know of individual psychology. So the question naturally arose. If we understand the mechanism and motives of the group mind, is it not possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without their knowing about it?
This general principle, that men are very largely actuated by motives which they conceal from themselves, is as true of mass as of individual psychology. It is evident that the successful propagandist must understand the true motives and not be content to accept the reasons which men give for what they do... The voice of the people expresses the mind of 3 the people, and that mind is made up for it by the group leaders in whom it believes and by those persons who understand the manipulation of public opinion. It is composed of inherited prejudices and symbols and clichés and verbal formulas supplied to them by the leaders. Fortunately, the sincere and gifted politician is able, by the instrument of propaganda, to mold and form the will of the people..."
--Edward Bernays, "Propaganda," 1928
http://whale.to/b/bernays_b.html
I think we as a society are keenly aware of what propaganda is and how it works, but do we fully recognize how pervasive it is, we're surrounded by propagandists of all flavors. Are you affected by it? Care to cite some examples?
I find it fascinating and terrifying at the same time. Mostly because I see it all over the place. Especially where he talks about how the multitude of people who lack complete understanding of how the mind functions are ever at the mercy of the tiny fraction of those who do. That is so true and it is evidenced in his alternative point about herds moving on pure emotion rather than *thought. I see that everywhere.
Thanks for taking the time to read through and respond.
This post was edited by ForkNdaRoad at April 14, 2017 8:35 PM MDT
"...even in our interpersonal relationships when people pass along "news" or try to change another's veiwpoint or shame them into conformity."
That is so true, painfully true. I've been on both ends of that, sometimes in the worst possible way too. Even people who are close fall victim to it. Like you, I recognize it, I actively catch myself and I've tried, still daily, to reprogram my brain out of it. I don't know if it's ever possible to truly pull back from it, like you said, we're all affected by it, whether we acknowledge it or not. And it's tough when you're surrounded by it to not give into it.
What bothers me is that we mostly perceive propaganda as the insidious attempt of a few to corrupt the mentality of the many. And while that is true, there are more propagandists (unwittingly or otherwise) than subjects. It's that common, we've taken it up as a habit of our own and most don't even realize they're doing as this is what passes for "thought." I just don't even know where to start... I've found that the more I've studied human thought, the more evident these tactics are to me, but I've scoured even my faintest memories from my most formative age and I can't ever recall a time when it wasn't present in some form or another.
Great post,t hanks for passing on that quote. Jeez, whopper, that one.
Funny you would single out advertising, when Bernays came to America, that was what he did... he applied this technique to advertising / marketing.
One of his most well-known--and simultaneously his least-known--success in the advertising / marketing arena was the notion that "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day."
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/nov/28/breakfast-health-america-kellog-food-lifestyle
Now days those familiar with the above refer to it as a 'wives-tale, hardly--this was a highly effective campaign to introduce a false concept to an entire population. And it worked! So well in fact that I can recall hearing this from 3 generations in my family. My great grandfather ate this meal, almost religiously, for most of his adult life. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that little nugget of information. Crazy.
Nor did I intend to suggest that all forms of propaganda are comparable to what Goebbels did, but I do think it's noteworthy as an example. Of course that into the extreme. Nevertheless, it bears noting that this was obviously a very important tool to them and I think we could all agree that they were rather successful in their application of it. That was truly my only suggestion with that fact, thanks for clarifying.
Adaydreambeliever 