Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes

Ellul ''states that, in his view, propaganda is today a greater 'danger' to mankind than any of the other more grandly advertised threats hanging over the human race. His super-analysis ends with a warning, not a prophecy.'' Jacques Ellul (1912-1994), a French sociologist, was Professor Emeritus of Law and of the History and Sociology of Institutions at the University of Bordeaux. ''To warn him of his weakness is not to attempt to destroy him, but rather to encourage him strengthen himself. I have no sympathy with the haughty aristocratic intellectual who judges from on high, believing himself invulnerable to the destructive forces of his time, and disdainfully considers the common people as cattle to be manipulated, to be molded by the action of propaganda. . . . That having suffered, felt, and analyzed the impact of the power of propaganda on myself, having been time and again, and still being, the object of propaganda, I want to speak of it as a menace which threatens the total personality.'' (xvii) 'Menace threatens the total personality' - What would Ellul say now? Threatens the total society? Total world culture? Chapter 1 - The Characteristics of Propaganda 1. External Characteristics 2. Internal characteristics 3. Categories of Propaganda Chapter 2 - The Conditions for the Existence of Propaganda 1. The Sociological Conditions 2. Objective Conditions of Totsl Propaganda Chapter 3 - The Necessity of Propaganda 1. The State's Necessity 2. The Individual's Necessity Chapter 4 - Psychological Effects of Propaganda Chapter 5 - The Socio-Political Effect 1. Propaganda and Ideology 2. Effects on the Structure of Public Opinions 3. Propaganda and Grouping 4. Propaganda and Democracy Appendix 1 - Effectiveness of Propaganda Appendix 2 - Mao Tse-tung's Propaganda 1. The War: From 1926 to 1949 2. Since 1949 3. Brainwashing ''Central to Ellul's thesis, is that modern propaganda cannot work without ''education'': he thus reverses the widespread notion that education is the best prophylactic against propaganda. On the contrary, he says, education, or what usually goes by that word in the modern world, is the absolute prerequisite for propaganda.'' Education opens the mind to - ''propaganda''! ''In fact, education is identical with what Ellul calls ''pre-propaganda'' - the conditioning of minds vast amounts of incoherent information, already dispensed for ulterior purposes and posing as ''facts'' and as ''education''. (vi) ''Facts'' are only true when ''education'' says they are. Therefore - ''The 'need' for propaganda on the part of the ''propagandee'' is one of the most powerful elements of Ellul's thesis. Cast out of the disintegrating micro groups of the past, such as family, church, or village, the individual is plunged into mass society and thrown back on his own inadequate resources, his isolation, his loneliness, his ineffectuality.'' (vi) 'Alienated in a world he never made' ''Propaganda then hands him in veritable abundance what he needs: a 'raison d'être', personal involvement and participation in important events, an outlet and excuse for some of his more doubtful impulses, righteousness - all factious, to be sure, all more or less spurious.'' (vii) News addict. ''The citizen of a modern state pays more taxes than the most heavily taxed people in pre-Napoleonic times the subject was forced to pay, whereas the free citizen of today must pay for reasons of conviction. His conviction will not about spontaneously, particularly when taxes are really heavy. The conviction must therefore be manufactured, ideals must be stimulated in order to give true significance to such a ''contribution to the nation''; here, too, propaganda is needed. This is the exact opposite of political freedom.'' (142) Nationalism seems only sacred thing left standing. ''The man of whom such super-sacrifices are demanded finds himself in the middle of an incessant world conflict, pushed to the very limit of his nervous and mental endurance, and in a sort of constant preparation for ultimate sacrifice. He cannot live this way unless sustained by powerful motivations, which he will not find either inside himself, or spontaneously. They must be furnished him by society. . . . Man must be plunged into a mystical atmosphere, he must be given strong enough impulses as well as good enough reasons for his sacrifice, and, at the same time, a drug that will sustain his nerves and his morale.'' (143) ''History shows that plain truth can be so throughly snuffed out that it disappears, and that in certain periods the lie is all powerful. . . . Propaganda, in fact, creates truth in the sense that it creates in men subject to propaganda all the signs of true believers. For modern man, propaganda is really creating truth.'' (235) Truth is given, received without struggle or pain, in contrast to the work of Socrates, Euclid, Grosseteste, Kepler, Aquinas, Newton, Faraday, Pascal, Locke, Wycliffe, Tyndale, Maxwell, Pastuer, Plank, Einstein, etc., etc.. The decades of mental effort, heartbreaking struggle, produced treasure modernity still uses. Newton's Physics has been replaced by Faraday's fields, but the insights of both were -never- given, they were produced/discovered through agonizing, heart wrenching struggle. What a loss if such men disappear! ''The individual who is prevented by circumstances from becoming a real person, who cannot express himself through personal thought or action, who finds his aspirations frustrated, projects onto the hero all he would wish to be. He lives vicariously and experiences the athletic or amorous or military exploits of the God with whom he lives in spiritual symbiosis. . . . The hero becomes model and father, power and mythical of all that the individual cannot be.'' (172) ''Young is of the opinion that the propagandee no longer develops intellectually, but becomes arrested in an infantile neurotic pattern; regression sets in when the individual is submerged in mass psychology. This is confirmed by Stoetzel, who says that propaganda destroys all individuality, is capable of creating only a collective personality; and that it is an obstacle in the free development of the personality.'' (173) (See also - ''Occidentalism: The West in the Eyes of Its Enemies''. ''Propaganda'', by Edward Bernays. Probably the most renowned work on this theme. Gustave Le Bon’s 1897 work “The Crowd: A Study Of the Popular Mind” is great!)

Fascinating book that could significantly change the way you look at the world. Not an easy read but worth the effort.

Ellul has written a marvelous volume on the topic of propaganda. He has covered every aspect of this political socialization machine that has been impregnating, manipulating, and corrupting our society with pseudo-ideologies, education, and attitudes in order to perpetuate complete control over the people by the elites and the propaganda masters. Individualism, ideology, myth, literacy, and technology make the essence of this powerful and successful propaganda that brainwashes every recipient that is exposed to it. Ellul's book is mesmerizing as well as enlightening and would leave you spellbound and flabbergasted. I would strongly recommend this book for every reader who is interested in comprehending the dynamics that mobilize our society and the strategies that form our attitudes.

Great presentation that ironically demonstrated what was being described.

Amazing book!! There's three minds that I admire: the scientist,the philosopher but the mastermind is the social engineer behind any political ideology any social movement and even entertainments such as "sports" and music industry are the inventions of the social engineer and he uses it to give the unsuspecting individual his identity. You may never meet him but if you choose to adhere or identify with any of his creations he's got you. all he has to do is put in front you an appealing CULTURAL LEADER a politician, a movie star,a rockstar, a football player. He's gonna pull you to and fro so you'll do his will without you even knowing. This is why I sooo love this book ELLUL my favorite thinker.

As I was expecting a rather straightforward study of propaganda, the first few chapters seemed rather convoluted and contradictory. I slowly realized (even though the author states he is not writing about the scientific/psychological aspects, hint, hint) that this is somewhat of a philosophic work. I'd been propagandized to my own preconcieved notion of propaganda books!!! After overcoming my own false expectations, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Several aspects are brilliantly explained; the state's and individual's NEED for propaganda...to name only one of many. With that being said, I would NOT recommend this book to the reader who wants to learn the basic fundamentals or psychological/sociological mechanisms involved in propaganda. Instead I would refer to Fromm's "Escape From Freedom" or Hoffer's "The True Believer" (both classics), even Bernays' book of the same name, even though it is very rudimentary. But for those who already have some knowledge of the phenomenon, this study will take your understanding of propaganda to the next level, and I would consider this a must read for anyone serious on the topic.

Here, finally, is a book that gives insight and form to the system that we are living under. The architects, those guys in the think tanks, have read this and are following the path described. It's a long game, we've been played this since the age of Nixon. For many years the game slowly advanced, bit by bit, piece by piece. Now the board is just about filled out and we can begin to see the shape of what's been planned all these years. Many of our defenses have been overcome, there's not much holding back the tyranny that many of us are happily assenting to. This world described by Ellul is becoming all too real for us. Unless you've got telescopic eyes you might want like to pay for the hardback; the paperback has something like 7 point print.

I couldn't put this book down. While it may be a harder read being in the philosophical realm, it really digs deep into the nature of propaganda and how, in our modern society, it becomes increasingly necessary even in democratic countries. The author early on dispels the notion that propaganda is simply "a bunch of lies". Often it is actual truth that is the preferred message. Even Goebbels suggested using truth as much as possible. The purpose is to maximize efficiency. The most fascinating concept in the book is the author's explanation of an organic evolving symbiosis between the producers and consumers of propaganda. In other words, its not just a one way street coming from "evil" producers of propaganda. Many consumers of propaganda actually want to consume it. In summary, this book, while half a century old, speaks volumes. Some parts could be considered slightly outdated, but with a tiny bit of application, you can easily apply it to the internet/cell phone age. I'd highly recommend this book.

An enlightening read on the use of propaganda on populations, both by governments and other entities. Ellul was a French Intellectual and Political Philosopher who tried to warn the public about the use of propaganda methods to control their thinking. Anyone interested in how mass formation psychosis occurs in today’s times should include Jacques Ellul in their research and reading lists. (This version/print is fine, however, older prints of this book may include fewer editorial changes, will be more expensive than this copy, but could be better for more in depth research.)

To fully understand this book, one must first read the Technological Society by the same author. I read Propaganda prior to the Technological Society, and I remember the first 60 pages of Propaganda being like eavesdropping on a conversation that had already been going on for a while. The level of scholarship demonstrated by Ellul among authors having written about the propaganda phenomenon is second to none. Chomsky is a high school student next to a university professor in comparison. They approach the subject matter differently and both have different concerns. Chomsky is concerned with American manipulation of mass media and the manufacturing of public opinion in that country, hence his 'Manufacturing Consent: the political economy of mass media', whereas Ellul is concerned with Propaganda as a social phenomenon in the broadest sense and the sociological role it occupies in societies and the formation of attitudes & masses. Both authors study the phenomenon differently as well. Chomsky proposes a propagandist model of political economy which he proceeds to demonstrate quantitatively with the use of language: adjectives, tone, bias, framing, frequency, timing etc. Ellul uses a dialectical approach, which is no less rigorous but might leave some readers not totally satisfied in terms of proof; although I would disagree. Propaganda has completely changed my perspective on society and what it means to live in society today. Jacques Ellul is certainly one of the greatest intellectuals of the 20 century. IMO he will become as influential as Nietzsche, Heidegger, Marx, or Hegel and will be known as such in centuries to come.

Ellul is some one I've read many years ago. His stimulating thoughts and penetrating analysis makes an interesting read...and gives the reader how systems operate.

Jacques Ellul é sempre necessário. Nesse livro ele tenta jogar luz ao fenômeno da propaganda. Lendo ele e lendo o jornal do dia vemos que a propaganda nunca é óbvia e tenta nos convencer que certas ideias objetas são normais. Leia! Leia! Leia! Leia!

This book is a wake-up call. Ellul shows that we are often most vulnerable to propaganda when we think we are at our most independent. He doesn't offer easy answers, but he provides the tools to see the "totalitarian" nature of modern messaging. It is a challenging, heavy, but ultimately liberating read. A true 5-star classic that every citizen should own.