(244)S11E4/2: How Propaganda Became Public Relations
Podcast |
The Fourth Way
Publisher |
The Fourth Way
Media Type |
audio
Podknife tags |
Christianity, 
Philosophy, 
Religion & Spirituality, 
Society & Culture
Categories Via RSS |
Religion & Spirituality, 
Society & Culture
Publication Date |
Apr 23, 2023
Episode Duration |
01:06:07

HUME QUOTE: Nothing appears more surprizing to those, who consider human affairs with a philosophical eye, than the easiness with which the many are governed by the few; and the implicit submission, with which men resign their own sentiments and passions to those of their rulers. When we enquire by what means this wonder is effected, we shall find, that, as Force is always on the side of the governed, the governors have nothing to support them but opinion. It is therefore, on opinion only that government is founded; and this maxim extends to the most despotic and most military governments, as well as to the most free and most popular. The soldan of Egypt, or the emperor of Rome, might drive his harmless subjects, like brute beasts, against their sentiments and inclination: But he must, at least, have led his mamalukes, or prætorian bands, like men, by their opinion.

DOUGLAS QUOTE: But a change has now come over the affairs of mankind. Walled cities and empires have become unfashionable. The arm of commerce has borne away the gates of the strong city. Intelligence is penetrating the darkest corners of the globe. It makes its pathway over and under the sea, as well as on the earth. Wind, steam, and lightning are its chartered agents. Oceans no longer divide, but link nations together. From Boston to London is now a holiday excursion. Space is comparatively annihilated. -- Thoughts expressed on one side of the Atlantic are distinctly heard on the other.The far off and almost fabulous Pacific rolls in grandeur at our feet. The Celestial Empire, the mystery of ages, is being solved. The fiat of the Almighty, "Let there be Light," has not yet spent its force. No abuse, no outrage whether in taste, sport or avarice, can now hide itself from the all-pervading light.

SELECTED WIMBERLY QUOTES: - Most individuals are quick to note that they are no dupes and harbor many suspicious and critical thoughts about propaganda. But, in trying to evaluate the impact of propaganda, it has to be remembered that propagandists have almost no interest in the individual. Propagandists focused on mass subjectivities—human beings in their collective social relationships and actions. It is perfectly possible that an individual might feel as an individual that she is critical and little impacted by propaganda: after all, does not she know that it is all smoke and mirrors? However, what we are judging is not what the individual thinks but what the public does. An individual may think whatever she wants, but if in her collective actions (e.g., as an 18- to 34-year-old television watcher, an automobile consumer, or a corporate or university worker) she acts in the collective fashion the propagandists create (e.g., watches the television, buys a nice midsized SUV, or completes the university administration–mandated course assessment work), then what do the rebellious thoughts of the individual matter to the propagandist who is measuring TV viewership, automobile sales, or how well a university serves its core customer base? Put otherwise, the propagandist seeks to forge mass subjectivities, which it calls the publics, to carry out the conduct their clients want, not to focus on the beliefs of individuals: “Very frequently propaganda is described as a manipulation for the purpose of changing ideas or opinions… . This is completely wrong… . The aim of modern propagandist is no longer to modify ideas, but to provoke action.”If the terms of mass subjectivities, large groupings of psychologically bonded individuals, give no room for those individual rebellions to crystallize into collective social action but instead reliably lead to the conduct corporations want, then one can perfectly well feel as an individual untouched, critical, or even radicalized but nonetheless still remain massively governed. In fact, isn’t it all the better that individuals believe themselves ungoverned, critical, and unaffected if that results in complacency and a lack of motivation for action? The point is that the thoughts of the individual and the conduct of the publics have to be distinguished: though one might feel critical as an individual, the question is how social and public relationships of subjects are constituted and conduct themselves. If a radical still buys the dress, movie ticket, or 12-piece dinner set, what does it matter that it is a radical who buys it when there is no room for that radicalism to manifest itself in the public? Propagandists would tell us that the appropriateness of the language of subjectification versus modification has to be judged at the level of the conduct of the public, not at the level of the thoughts of the individual.

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