Century of the self - Edward Bernays Propaganda

[Mrs. Sharon B. Hodge]

Edward Louis Bernays (November 22, 1891 – March 9, 1995) nephew of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, was considered the father of the field of public relations.
Combining the ideas of Gustave LeBon and Wilfred Trotter on Crowd psychology with the Psychoanalytical ideas of his uncle, Sigmund Freud, Bernays was one of the first to attempt to manipulate public opinion using the psychology of the subconscious


He felt this manipulation was necessary in society, which he regarded as irrational and dangerous as a result of the ‘herd instinct’ that Trotter had described.
The 2002 BBC documentary, The Century of the Self, credited Bernays the primary contributor to modern development of public relations


In Propaganda (1928), his most important book, Bernays argued that the manipulation of public opinion was a necessary part of democracy:

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. …We are governed, our minds are 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 daily 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 which control the public mind


In his autobiography, titled Biography of an Idea, Bernays recalls a dinner at his home in 1933 where:”Karl von Weigand, foreign correspondent of the Hearst newspapers, an old hand at interpreting Europe and just returned from Germany, was telling us about Goebbels and his propaganda plans to consolidate Nazi power. Goebbels had shown Weigand his propaganda library, the best Weigand had ever seen. Goebbels, said Weigand, was using my book Crystallizing Public Opinion as a basis for his destructive campaign against the Jews of Germany. This shocked me.
… Obviously the attack on the Jews of Germany was no emotional outburst of the Nazis, but a deliberate, planned campaign
“

http://www ecopolis org/edward-bernays-the-father-of-propaganda/

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The Engineering of Consent" is an essay by Edward Bernays first published in 1947.[citation needed] He defines "engineering consent" as the art of manipulation of people; specifically, American citizen, who are described as "fundamentally irrational people... who could not be trusted." It maintained that entire populations, which were undisciplined or lacking in intellectual or definite moral principles, were vulnerable to the unconscious and undue influence so as make them want things that they do not need. This was achieved by linking those products and ideas to their unconscious desires.
Ernest Dichter, who is widely considered to be the "father of motivational research," referred to this as "the secret-self of the American consumer
"

In other words Consumer Psychologists have already made the choice for us before we buy a certain product.
This is achieved by manipulating desires on an unconscious level


The central idea behind the engineering of consent is that the public or people should not be aware of the manipulation taking place

http://en wikipedia org/wiki/The_Engineering_of_Consent

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Century of the self - Part 1


Century of the self - Part 2



Century of the self - Part 3



Century of the self - Part 4


Century of the self - Part 5



Century of the self - Part 6