Governments have pushed propaganda on their citizens since the days of Ancient Greece.
It is not a new concept. Whether dictatorship or democracy, governments have imposed propaganda on their own citizens in peacetime for purposes of reinforcing or changing national identity and behavior, and in times of war to promote noble causes of patriotism, national pride, and unity to defeat a common enemy. That propaganda is often assisted by ideologically aligned institutions.
The first half of the 20th century saw the maturing of the study of psychology, and the industrialization of psychology through journalism, entertainment, education, and advertising to condition people’s thoughts and influence their behavior.
President Woodrow Wilson utilized domestic propaganda after winning his second term to generate enthusiasm for U.S. entry into World War I, and to change America’s traditional values as part of his progressive agenda to transform America. Most of this propaganda was open. The Department of War became the first federal agency, during World War I, to institutionalize relations with Hollywood for the purpose of producing domestic propaganda.
At about this time, industrial-scale scientific manipulation of the mind became a political and business tool. Pioneers on this scale included Edward Bernays (“Bernays”), the nephew of Sigmund Freud (“Freud”) known as the “father of public relations.” Bernays’ 1928 book, Propaganda, laid out a philosophy for democratic governments to manipulate the public.
“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element of democratic society,” he wrote as the opening words of Chapter 1, titled “Organizing Chaos.” To Bernays, “Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.”1Bernays mainstreamed the idea of what he called “Engineering of Consent.”2
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