"Jacques Ellul’s Propaganda: The Formation of Men’s Attitudes (1965) has been called “a far more frightening work than any of the nightmare novels of George Orwell.”
In it, the French philosopher and sociologist dispels some of the popular notions about propaganda and exposes how it really operates in the modern world.
In the first chapter of the book, Ellul describes some of the characteristics of modern propaganda.Eight of them appear below:
...2) It Focuses on the Mass
“...The most favorable moment to seize a man and influence him is when he is alone in the mass: it is at this point that propaganda can be most effective.”
3) It is “Total”
“Propaganda must be total...
4) It Takes Over Education
“Education and training are inevitably taken over, as the Napoleonic Empire demonstrated for the first time...
6) It Must be Subtle at First
“Direct propaganda, aimed at modifying opinions and attitudes, must be preceded by propaganda that is sociological in character, slow, general, seeking to create a climate, an atmosphere of favorable preliminary attitudes…
7) It Must be Nonstop
“[Propaganda] must fill the citizen’s whole day and all his days…
8) It Aims at Irrational Action
“The aim of modern propaganda is no longer to modify ideas, but to provoke action...
Does this sound like anyone’s playbook today?"
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