Edward Bernay's ideas on manipulation in mass culture

In Propaganda (1928), his most important book, Bernays argued that the manipulation of public opinion was a necessary part of democracy:

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.

Fragment taken from Edward Bernay's entry in Wikipedia.




Edward Bernay's ideas on manipulation which in war time take the form of propaganda were proven to work also in times of peace through the manipulation of unconcious desires, linking emotions to products to make people buy things they didn't need.

- Video fragment from "The Century of the Self" Part 1. Happiness Machines.

Edward Bernay's wikipedia entry.
Edward Bernay's book: Propaganda.