Posted 30th November 2013
Edward Bernays sold America’s entry into WW1 on a message of spreading freedom and democracy (a practice followed by US administrations ever since). He persuaded women that cigarettes were a penile symbol of power and aligned smoking with the suffragette movement.
The same techniques are used today to sell wars, economic repression and the theory of man-made global warming which survives in the face of historical experience and contemporary observation.
Our world view has been choreographed through concentrated media (particularly the BBC). Anyone who missed The Century of the Self (which is, ironically a BBC production), would be well advised to watch it. It explains how our decisions are no longer based on rational thought but appeals to emotion and base instincts.
Bernays’ uncle Siegmund Freud was concerned with the study of individuals. Bernays was focused and grew rich on manipulating the masses.