Let’s now look at the doctrines that have been crafted to impose the modern forms of political democracy. They are expressed quote accurately in an important manual of the public relations industry by one of its leading figures, Edward Bernays. He opens by observing that “the conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society”. To carry out this essential task, “the intelligent minorities must make use of propaganda continuously and systematically” because they alone “understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses” and can “pull the wires which control the public mind.” Therefore our “society has consented to permit free competition to be organized by leadership and propaganda” another case of “consent without consent”. Propaganda provides leadership with a mechanism “to mold the mind of the masses” so that “they will throw their newly gained strength in the desired direction.” The leadership can “regiment the public mind every bit as much as an army regiments the bodies of its solders.” This process of “engineering consent” is “the very essence of the democratic process,” Bernays wrote shortly before he was honored for his contributions by the American Psychological Association in 1949.
- Profit over People - Noam Chomsky (via noam-chomsky)
