"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." -Edward Bernays
That's the beginning of chapter one. Ed published Propaganda in 1928. He seems to brag about the manipulability of the masses. I have the PDF, but I have not read it, yet. I am wondering if anyone else has read it or has an opinion about the extent to which humans are manipulable. I think public life is a camouflaged dominance hierarchy of apes. Most of us are deceived to a large degree from cradle to grave. People should be studying, with great focus, the government documents of the wallet.
