Here, contemplating The New Republic’s centenary:
A few years after Walter Lippmann propounded his mandarin skepticism about the reliance of a progressive society upon the wayward minds of the masses, his admirer Edward Bernays produced one of the most illuminating and most chilling American books of the twentieth century. It was called Propaganda, which it extolled. “The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society,” it began. “Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.” Bernays was writing in admiration of these “invisible governors.” He continued: “In theory, every citizen makes up his mind on public questions and matters of private conduct. In practice, if all men had to study for themselves the abstruse economic, political, and ethical data involved in every question, they would find it impossible to come to a conclusion without anything. We have voluntarily agreed to let an invisible government sift the data and high-spot the outstanding issues so that our field of choice shall be narrowed to practical proportions.” Bernays proceeded to devise various techniques for the functioning of the invisible government, and in a long and colorful career he became known as the father of public relations. He saw no significant difference between politics and commerce, and agitated for commerce to become as cunning about its self-interested strategies as politics. In his day, or so he complained, corporations lagged behind politicians in venality. They soon caught up. (Bernays’ book has been rediscovered in contemporary China, where it suits the glittering and gruesome experiment in authoritarian capitalism.)
Follow UD News at Twitter!