
Edward Bernays on the powers that be…



“Propaganda works more effectively if one manages to maintain the illusion that the mass media are non-partial observers. Tough debates within invisible boundaries will actually have the effect of strengthening the system.
Noam Chomsky

“It is conceivable that one persuasive person could, through the use of mass media, bend the world’s population to his will… A person can be induced to do voluntarily something that he would otherwise not do.”
Dorwin Cartwright, Some Principles of Mass Persuasion (1949)

This has been a personal bugbear of mine since I grew old enough to detect subtext, but long before I could articulate exactly why: The pervasive and destructive idea that there are too many people.
A propaganda construct that seeks to create contempt for masses of ordinary people, whilst excusing hubristic and inhumane practices by institutions and elites.
These destructive belief systems have come to the fore during this “pandemic”, made obvious by the fevered gleeful enthusiasm with which so many took up the narrative. One UN representative claimed the coronavirus was Earth “sending us a message”.
“Propaganda works more effectively if one manages to maintain the illusion that the mass media are non-partial observers. Tough debates within invisible boundaries will actually have the effect of strengthening the system.”
Noam Chomsky
Completely unburdened by any need to provide evidence or even anything resembling subtlety, Ratcliffe lists as reasons we should all be afraid of China’s sinister desire to “subordinate the rights of the individual to the will of the Communist Party” such things as intellectual property theft and the fact that China (like all major nations) often seeks to influence US politics. Slipped in among these mundane and unimpressive claims, Ratcliffe writes that “China has even conducted human testing on members of the People’s Liberation Army in hope of developing soldiers with biologically enhanced capabilities.”
A claim without evidence made by a spy chief about the world being threatened by Chinese supervillains with extraordinary powers given to them by unethical Chinese mad scientists should of course be dismissed with a scoff and a vulgar gesture. Instead, CIA assets like Dilanian are leading the charge to throw the entire might of the plutocratic media into driving this nonsense as far into western consciousness as possible. This ridiculous story has been picked up not just by Murdoch outlets like The New York Post, but by outlets like The Guardian and NBC as well.

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