Mechanics of Propaganda: The Engineering of Consent

We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of….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….We have voluntarily agreed to let an invisible government sift the data and high-spot the outstanding issues so that our field of choice shall be narrowed to practical proportions. From our leaders and the media they use to reach the public, we accept the evidence and the demarcation of issues bearing upon public questions. (Edward Bernays, Propaganda)

Often referred to as “the father of public relations,” Edward Bernays wrote these words eighty-five years ago, in 1928, in his seminal work, Propaganda. Yet, these words ring true today. In his book, Bernays does not evaluate the appropriateness of propaganda, but stoically delineates a means to shape public opinion for any purpose, whether beneficial to society or not. Bernays writes, “It is the purpose of this book to explain the structure of the mechanism that controls the public mind, and to tell how it is manipulated by the special pleader who seeks to create public acceptance for a particular idea or commodity.” (Bernays, E. (2020). Propaganda [Kindle iOS version], p.10)

Bernays’ theory of propaganda is an amalgamation of behavioral psychology, popular in America throughout most of the 20th century, and Sigmund Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis. The influence of Sigmund Freud upon Bernays is particularly noteworthy. Bernays’ mother was Freud’s sister, Anna; his father, Ely Bernays, was the brother of Freud’s wife, Martha. Bernays often made mention of his relationship with “uncle Sigi“ and his influence upon him.

Psychoanalysis posits that human attitudes and choices are not effects of free-will, but determined by internal, unconscious urges or drives. These drives emanate from an unconscious force Freud labels the Id. In his Outline of Psychoanalysis, Freud states that “They [drives] represent the somatic demands upon mental life. Though they are the ultimate cause of all activity.” (Freud, S. (2014). An Outline of Psychoanalysis [Kindle iOS version], p. 19). The somatic demands are reflected in the wide array of emotions and desires which the organism seeks to satisfy. After decades of research and work with patients, Freud assumes the existence of two basic drives: Eros, the life drive, and Thanatos, the destructive drive. Self preservation and preservation of the species accounts for the life drive. Psychologically, Eros evinces primary narcissism, seeks pleasure, and avoids unpleasure. Opposing the life drive, the destructive drive seeks to undermine connections and do harm to self and/or others. Lacking reason, these basic drives exist in a polarity of unbridled psychic energy. They only seek to be satisfied. At the risk of oversimplifying, the demands of Eros and Thanatos might be expressed by the attitudes, “I want what I want, now!” versus “If I can’t get what I want, then no one else can either.”

The opposing demands of narcissistic and destructive drives are incessant and insatiable, indifferent to perilous consequences. If left unfettered, life would become increasingly dystopian. This risk spawns the crucial development of another psychic force, ego-reason. Confronted by the countervailing demands of reality, the ego seeks to placate the demands of narcissistic or self-destructive propensities. Countervailing reality here refers to any obstacle to self-gratification. In particular, social reality evolves as the predominant factor preventing narcissistic and destructive drives from running amok.

The psychological conflict between narcissistic and destructive propensities and social reality triggers the evolution of a third psychic force, the superego. Here, social resources are marshaled to guide and constrain unconscious narcissistic or destructive drives. If social constraints and expectations become nebulous or perverted, then acts of narcissism, violence, and chaos will increase. This axiom underscores the vital importance of healthy social institutions, primarily families, faith traditions, and education.

Complementing psychoanalysis in Bernays’ machination of propaganda are behavioral psychology techniques. Logical, practical, and effective, behavioral techniques have been utilized in our society for decades to change and shape behaviors. In fact, behavioral psychology narrowly defines learning as a relatively permanent change of behavior, a euphemism for simply being conditioned by others to act a certain way. The fact that parenting strategies, counseling approaches, and teacher education programs continue to incorporate behavioral psychology techniques serves as a prime example of behaviorism’s ongoing impact.

Rooted in a deterministic mindset, both psychoanalysis and behaviorism deny or simply ignore human free-will. In psychoanalysis, unconscious drives determine our choices and actions; in behaviorism, human choices are determined by interactions with environmental elements and the consequences which ensue. According to Thorndike’s Law of Effect, a cornerstone of behavioral theory, behaviors followed by, or associated with gratification will more likely reoccur. Conversely, behaviors followed by, or associated with dissatisfaction, discomfort, or pain, will less likely reoccur. Most interactions occur spontaneously in the natural flow of life, but they can also be engineered by a third party to shape and control behavior.

Using the deterministic influence of unconscious drives, Bernays adrenalizes behavioral techniques to create a powerful agent of change: propaganda. Bernays taps into emotionally laden drives, both narcissistic and destructive, and associates them with a particular commodity or idea to shape attitudes and choices. Literally, every commodity or idea is able to be effectively peddled if associated with, for example, self-aggrandizement, power, pleasure, fear, anger, or retribution. The connection between unconscious drives and a commodity or idea does not have to be logical, valid, healthy, moral, or just. The connection simply needs to be useful and repeatable. Undergirded by unconscious drives and the emotions they engender, a person can be influenced to think and do just about anything. If left unabated, these associations and resultant emotional stimulation become addictive. Though unsustainable, people will do anything to perpetuate their emotional high, including the destruction of anything or anyone who would challenge the source of their addiction.

Bernays’ utilization of propaganda as an agent of change is legendary. His theories became a tool to influence a host of social phenomena including, but not limited to, marketing, politics, education, foreign policy, and social engineering. Three prominent events highlight the critical impact of Bernays’ methods of propaganda: promoting war; aiding the rise of National Socialism in Germany; and manipulating marketing approaches.

During what we now know as World War I, Edward Bernays was hired by the Woodrow Wilson administration to help promote a flagging war effort and to gain support from the American people. Bernays understood that in order to promote the war effectively and to shape public opinion, he needed to tap into unconscious drives and the emotions they activate in the mind. Primal fear and anger associated with any threat to self-preservation became the emotional foundation for pro-war sentiment. Bernays began by framing the war as a battle between democracy and autocracy, freedom and oppression. In this case, America stood for individual freedom and for freedom as a society while Germany represented aggression and authoritarianism. Bernays created a series of campaigns aimed at arousing strong emotions in support of the war effort including parades, rallies, and other public events. Pro-war sentiments were optimized and perpetuated with slogans, trinkets, and posters. Recognizing the power of the media, Bernays worked closely with newspapers and other publications to ensure that the government's message was continuously conveyed to the public. He even helped to create the first propaganda films, which were shown in movie theaters to promote the war effort.

In little more than a decade after the end of WWI, Joseph Goebbels became Minister of Propaganda for the National Socialist Party (NAZI) in Germany. Goebbels immediately applied Bernays' techniques to create a powerful and effective propaganda machine that helped the Nazis gain and maintain control of German society. Goebbels promoted powerful and emotionally charged messages that appealed to people's feelings of nationalism, pride, and anti-Semitism. He further associated the emotionally laden messages with slogans, symbols, and images that were easy to remember and oft repeated them.

Nazi propaganda was everywhere, impacting all social institutions including politics, education, business, and culture. One of the Nazis’ first actions was to take editorial control of all media outlets including education, newspapers, radio, theater, music, and film. All were subject to Nazi supervision of content. Anything that did not follow the Nazi narrative was banned. Conformity and compliance to Nazi rule was mandated under threat of censorship or confinement.

Most infamously, Leni Riefenstahl enshrines the manipulative power of film propaganda. As a German filmmaker and actress, she worked closely with the Nazi party and contributed significantly to Nazi propaganda. Riefenstahl was a pioneer in cinematic technique using dramatic colors, camera angles, and music to create an awe-inspiring image of the Nazi party. Her films were able to evoke strong emotional responses from audiences and helped to create a sense of national unity and pride. Overall, Riefenstahl's films were highly effective in promoting Nazi ideology and creating a powerful image of Nazi Germany.

In response to Goebbels’ nefarious application of his propaganda techniques, Bernays recounts in his autobiography, “They were using my books as the basis for a destructive campaign….This shocked me, but I knew any human activity can be used for social purposes or misused for antisocial ones.” That Bernays was shocked by his propaganda techniques being used for ill seems disingenuous and naive given his uncle Sigmund’s clear warning about the destructive drive in men.

The third noteworthy application of Bernays’ propaganda techniques lies in marketing and advertising. Due to its association with the Nazis, the term propaganda acquired a negative connotation, so Bernays promoted the euphemism “public relations.” Employing his propaganda formula, Bernays first identifies strong emotions symptomatic of primary narcissism or destruction. Through repeated exposure in a wide array of social media, he associates a product, person, or idea with targeted emotions. He then develops evocative images, catchy slogans, euphemisms, and group events to strengthen the association with a specific product, person, or idea. The marketing goal is to persuade a person or group through emotional appeal to buy something he may or may not need or to instill an attitude which might not be his own.

Innumerable examples of Bernays' use of propaganda in marketing exist. He was instrumental in expanding smoking among women, who were constrained by social taboos from smoking in public. Tapping into feelings of frustration and repressed anger, Bernays created the image of cigarettes as "Torches of Freedom,” making smoking a symbol of independence. A different campaign touted breakfast as the most important meal of the day, absent any data, in order to promote more food, such as bacon and eggs, being consumed. Finally, Bernays even worked with agencies in the U.S. government to promote American interests and influence in foreign governments.

Bernays’ propaganda reflects the influence of Freud’s reductionist view of human nature. As Freud himself admits, “I always confined myself to the ground floor and basement of the edifice called man.” (Frankl, V. E. (2014.) The Will to Meaning: Foundations and Applications of Logotherapy [Kindle iOS version]. p. 175.) Fundamentally, Bernays’ application of propaganda is effective only when it succeeds in reducing human behavior to basic drives and emotions. As Richard Gunderman, Chancellor's Professor of Medicine, Liberal Arts, and Philanthropy at Indiana University-Purdue University Indiana states, “At its core [Bernays’ Propaganda] represents little more than a particularly brazen set of techniques to manipulate people to get them to do your bidding.” I would add, to get people to think and feel the way you want them to think and feel.

Clearly, propaganda is a tool which can be implemented for good or ill, depending upon the attitude and intentions of those wielding it. Literally, any person or entity, anywhere, can utilize Bernays’ propaganda techniques to persuade or manipulate another person or group. Whether the target be voters, consumers, students, or society, Bernays’ approach utilizes peripheral routes of persuasion. This mode of persuasion focuses upon collective emotions, groupthink, and group polarization. In this way, human reason, individuality, and objective reality are circumvented, all in order to avoid the resistance and scrutiny of reality and reason. In the hands of Machiavellian personalities who are narcissistic, utilitarian, irreligious, and immoral, propaganda techniques become weapons of manipulation, even perversion. Concern for the well-being of individuals is non-existent, much less for anyone who does not conform or comply with their distortion of reality and quest for power.

However, an application of propaganda exists which differs starkly from Bernays’ approach. Promoting an alternative approach, Viktor Frankl proclaims, “We must counter the negative propaganda of recent times, the propaganda of ‘Non-Sense,’ of ‘Non-Meaning,’ with another propaganda that must be, firstly, individual and, secondly, active. Only then can it be positive.” (Frankl, V. E. (2020.) Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything p. 25.) Positive propaganda does not dwell in the Freudian basement of human nature where primary narcissism and destructive propensities determine choices and behaviors. This new, positive propaganda is preeminantly person-centered. Individuals are regarded more than unconscious drives and victims of fate. Rather, freedom of intention and personal responsibility characterize what it means to be human. “Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its [life’s] problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.” (Frankl, V. E. (2006.) Man's Search for Meaning [Kindle iOS version], p. 77.) Ultimately, the answer to life’s problems is selflessness, that is, being self-transcendent, being a person for others.

As Viktor Frankl observed, in order to counter the propaganda of non-sense and non-meaning, individual freedom and responsibility must be affirmed by meaningful action in life. In the face of an increasingly synthetic, selfish, reductionistic, and relativistic society, positive propaganda is countercultural. To that end, the social arena in which I have been most active is education. Life has provided me with the unique opportunity to propagandize youth positively in the Ignatian tradition. The positive propaganda inherent in Ignatian education elevates those higher qualities in individuals which are reflective of being created in God’s image: conscientiousness, responsibility, and meaningfulness. Ignatian education pursues academic excellence, develops critical reasoning skills, and promotes the discernment of objective truth. Complementing the cura personalis of this positive propaganda, associations are intentionally established between responsible actions and a meaningful life, contrasting sharply from the collectivist and reductionist approach of negative propaganda. In positive propaganda, the ultimate achievement is to lead a person from narcissism to selflessness in order to experience the meaning and satisfaction in life which ensue.