Bernays - Propaganda (How The Media Molds Your Mind) (1928)
"This is Edward Bernays' classic but still very informative book Propaganda (1928) which is one of the first books which systematically dealt with the effects propaganda has on our everyday lives. But the author didn't merely observe what was happening at the time, he also had a very special purpose in mind for propaganda in the future. In this amazing book he lays out his eerily prescient vision for using propaganda to regiment the collective mind in a variety of areas, including government, politics, art, science, and education. For years it was the unofficial handbook for the PR industry as it gives out the foundations to understand the fine art of "control of the public mind" that we see today. Propaganda, though written in the late 1920s, is an excellent resource for a citizen in general. This manual, a seminal document, is a key resource on the thoughts and workings of the public relations industry, then only a speck compared to what it is today. Everything from corporate PR to advertising in general has basically internalized what is covered in this book in order to serve those institutional functions that mold the public's mind. Quoting the first lines: "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." As we can all perceive the effects of media manipulation on today's world events, this fascinating book can perhaps throw some light on the techniques used in present history concerning among other the "War on Terror". 175 page book is available at Amazon. A must read from everyone." - Anon.
Chris Gupta
---------------------Here is what Dr. Mercola's in his new book: "The Great Bird Flu Hoax: The Truth They Don't Want You to Know About the "Next Big Pandemic" says:
"Edward L. Bernays, author of the book Propaganda, is considered to be the "Father of Spin." He mastered the art of persuading the masses using ideas he learned from his uncle, Sigmund Freud. As a marketing genius, he could convince anybody to buy just about anything. He described the public as a "herd that needed to be led." His PR campaigns were so smooth in their approach that the public was unaware that they were even being manipulated.He believed that the public needed to be told what to think because they were incapable of creating their own rational thought.
In Propaganda, Bernays writes:
Those who manipulate the unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.We are governed, our minds molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized.Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society. In almost every act of our lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires that control the public mind.8 Whether you read a newspaper, listen to the radio, watch television, or surf the Internet, you run the risk of being manipulated and deceived by this type of propaganda. On the other hand, if you're careful, you can learn the truth. The trick to being able to differentiate between reality and the lies and deception may be as simple as learning to follow the money trail.
Once you learn how to follow the money, piercing the veil of deception will become much easier for you. When you follow the money, you can frequently uncover and understand hidden agendas and conflicts of interest. Suddenly, the common strategies that many corporations use to deceive you become clearly transparent. You won't need to rely on any "experts" to help you sort through the confusion, as you will be able to see right through many of the disinformation schemes yourself.
Since the dawn of civilization, propaganda has been used to manipulate belief systems. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of each individual to properly interpret the goal of the messages being spread through any given medium."
See also: How to Stop Being Manipulated!
posted by Chris Gupta on Wednesday September 6 2006
updated on Wednesday April 23 2008URL of this article:
http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/2006/09/06/bernays_propaganda_how_the_media_molds_your_mind_1928.htm
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