(in this post: 13 part podcast 10 hours, 3 books(pdf) , 1 documentary , 7 interviews, qoutes and background information )
Edward Bernays, born in Vienna in 1891 and famously the nephew of Sigmund Freud, was perhaps the pioneer in the field of Public Relations, and highly influential in providing the framework for modern advertising.
His work aimed to convince people to want things that they didn't need, and in the process, link their unconscious desires to the consumption of mass produced goods. This in turn, it was theorized, could be used to control the masses, as by keeping them distracted on frivolous happenings and relatively unimportant wants, they wouldn't interfere with the activities of what he called 'the important few'.
All the while, he was remarkably candid about his intent. In one of his first books, 'Propaganda' (1928), he coined the term 'engineering of consent' to describe his technique for controlling the masses. In this podcast series, Guy Evans examines just how influential these ideas were, and details the resulting impact in relation to public relations, advertising, celebrity culture, and democracy itself
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Some Qoutes from his work: Propaganda.
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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.
p. 37
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, who harness old social forces and contrive new ways to bind and guide the world.
p. 37–38
In theory, everybody buys the best and cheapest commodities offered to him on the market. In practice, if every one went around pricing, and chemically testing before purchasing, the dozens of soaps or fabrics or brands of bread which are for sale, economic life would become hopelessly jammed.
p. 39
Propaganda is the executive arm of the invisible government.
p. 48
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Propaganda by edward bernays.
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Crystallizing public opinion by edward bernays.
http://sttpml.org/wp-content/uploads/
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Public relations by edward bernays.
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Documentaries
Century of Self.
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Interviews with the man him self.
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