Quotes and Excerpts

Death by Propaganda

by Carolyn Dean, MD, ND and Elissa Meininger
 

February 20, 2006
 


“The twentieth century has been characterized by three developments of great political importance: the growth of democracy, the growth of corporate power, and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate power against democracy." --Alex Carey (Australian academic)


 

Looking back over how corporate power became the dominant force in our everyday life and how government now follows in lockstep to suit every corporate whim, it is useful to understand its origins. In all, it’s been a long, deliberate process that continues to become evermore sophisticated in its manipulation of us, the American public.

One of the principle architects in the takeover of the American mind is a fellow named Edward Bernays, who is considered the father of the American public relations industry. If his name doesn’t ring a bell, then maybe his Uncle Sigmund Freud’s will.

In 2002, the BBC broadcast a four-part documentary called “The Century of Self,” covering the story of the relationship between Freud and his American nephew, as Bernays learned about the human mind and how to manipulate the masses. Bernays’ goal, from the early part of the 20th Century, was to be able to teach corporations how to make people want things they didn’t need through a variety of manipulative techniques appealing to people’s unconscious fears and desires.

What makes this production interesting is that it covers post-war America and illustrates how politicians and policymakers learned to use Freud’s ideas in their desire to control the masses as well. It shows how Sigmund Freud’s daughter, Anna, and his nephew Bernays, were central players, along with the U.S. Government, corporate America, and the CIA in believing that by controlling the masses via “engineering consent,” they could avoid the debacle of Nazi Germany where all the baser elements of the human character had committed atrocious acts.

Interestingly, during the 1960s, thanks to others in the psychological field, reactions against Freud’s ideas emerged, resulting in the idea of the “Me Generation” where individualism, not Freudian conformity, became the norm. Corporate America quickly adjusted by using focus groups, an idea first developed by the psychoanalyst industry, and learned how to further manipulate us by appealing to the unconscious desires in all of us to be “individualistic.”

"...Sigmund Freud’s daughter, Anna, and his nephew Bernays, were central players, along with the U.S. Government, corporate America, and the CIA in believing that by controlling the masses via “engineering consent,” they could avoid the debacle of Nazi Germany where all the baser elements of the human character had committed atrocious acts. ...


The basis upon which all of us are being manipulated, whether we realize it or not, rests on Freud’s basic theory that deep down, all human beings possess dangerous fears and desires that need to be controlled. The goal is to condition us like Pavlov’s dogs! The moment we hear our cue, we, in perfect unison, are motivated to think and act as we have been conditioned to do, even if the conditioning we received was outside our conscious awareness.
 

In Bernays 1928 book, Propaganda, which was recently re-issued, he talks about the invisible governance by manipulation.

"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 molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. ... Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smooth functioning society."

A “smoothly functioning society” molded by advertising is what we now have as corporate America and Big Pharma think nothing of spending hundreds of millions of dollars on the promotion of one drug alone. The fact that the drug may be harmful further illustrates their understanding of the power of propaganda.
 

Bernays, thanks to his relationship to his Uncle Sigmund, believed that the “group mind” does not think but, instead, it has impulses, habits, and emotions. The first of these impulses, according to Bernays, is to follow the example of a trusted leader. In the area of medicine and disease, use of doctors, scientists, government officials, private or public agencies associated with public health, and prominent social leaders and celebrities all should be drafted to carry the propaganda message....



© 2006 Carolyn Dean - All Rights Reserved

Permission granted to post this excerpt.

 

You can read the whole article at www.newswithviews.com/Dean/carolyn33.htm

 

Dr. Carolyn Dean's book: Death by Modern Medicine

websites: www.deathbymodernmedicine.com and www.carolyndean.com

E-Mail: holeopharm@pol.net