Propaganda: A Brief Overview

A word often used in a negative connotation, propaganda is a term used to describe a form of communication used to influence people and to utilize their passions and emotions to further a particular agenda. In most cases, it is not objective and relies on persuasion tactics of Pathos instead of Logos; the former denoting emotional appeal and the latter signifying reason. Even though it is thought of as tools for deception and inherently immoral by a myriad of people, this was not always the case and propaganda was taken as a neutral descriptive term throughout most of history.

Importance of Propaganda

Propaganda has a profound impact on the life of an average human, yet we are engrossed in our lives to such an extent that we fail to realize when we are being influenced by different groups for their personal ends, whether consciously falling into their propaganda or subconsciously inclining towards it. By knowing how propaganda works and situations in which it is effective or detrimental, people can make more informed decisions about different aspects of their lives and not merely follow their unconscious whims and be dictated by superfluous streams of information being bombarded from all sides. Propaganda should not be a source of repulsion; rather, it should be understood in greater detail because it allows people to understand the world around them better, helps them realize when they are acting on their whims and desires instead of reason, and also gives the layman similar knowledge about industry practices that advertising experts and propaganda masters possess.

Impact of Environment

The thing that most of us need to understand is the inexorable truth that whether we like it or not, we are always being influenced by our surroundings, whether that influence is clear and visible to us or whether we are unaware of the slow alterations happening to our perspectives. This phenomenon can be further explained by the use of the following parable: a person born and raised in a conservative environment will have conservative viewpoints about the world around it. Depending on his state of mind, he will either reinforce these viewpoints in his mind through constant repetition of his existing values, or his mindset will be overcome by a different viewpoint which was bombarded with greater effectiveness compared to the former. This is the stage that we could describe as ‘the phase of rebellion’ which is often used to describe adolescent behavior when they start to challenge authority. Many think of such phases as an inevitable part of growth and simply state that the child is growing mentally and developing his or her unique identity; however, the case is not as uncomplicated and straightforward as people like to assume and is actually the perfect case study for the long-term effects of propaganda. Underneath all the shallow assumptions and theories of rebellion, what actually happens is that children get exposed to their external environment more and more as they grow up. When younger, they gain their values and understanding from their parents with whom they spend most of their time. As they grow up, the influence of parents decreases in a ratio that is exactly inverse to the ratio in which influence of the external environment increases. Thus, now their behaviors are dictated by the customs of their school, friend circle, internet trends etcetera instead of their parents. Without even realizing it, these children are inculcating habits and mindsets which are, in most cases, opposed to what their parents taught them. Unable to bridge the chasm between the two spheres of influence, the children inexorably prefer the influence of their peers over their parents since they are the ones with whom they spend most of their time, and this phenomenon is then labeled as an innocuous phase of rebellion which could not be farther from the truth. In this way, the world around us influences us so subtly that even adults fail to realize it. What we ought to do is pay close attention and look at our surroundings with an eye of keen discernment and make sure that we are not absorbing any influences which, although appearing harmless at the present moment, will be detrimental for us in the long run. Whether one accepts it or not, every form of speech occurred, every bodily movement, every idea, every article of clothing that one wears is a form of propaganda. Anyone who perceives propaganda as something intrinsically negative and iniquitous will fail to adopt strategies to use it for his or her benefit. Only by thinking of propaganda as a neutral term can one understand it and use it in one’s favor. Hence, by learning about propaganda, one comprehends extraneous events with a mind far more capable and open than one which remains unaware and ignorant of the gist of such an important subject.

Ubiquity of Propaganda

Everyone acts on his or her base instincts and desires most of the time. Only a tiny fraction of our actions are motivated by pure reason and even then, it is our emotions that drive us towards that particular action. The only difference is the fact that ‘rational’ action requires more willpower and has less emotion involved compared to hedonistic activity. This is where we get further insight into the use and effectiveness of propaganda, and why some forms of propaganda work better than others. In his essay Writers and Readers, Aldous Huxley explains that propagandist literature is of two main types: first is that which aims at modifying the religious, ethical, and personal behaviors of its readers or followers, second is the one which aims at modifying social, political, and economic opinions and behaviors. The first type relates to reason and goes against primitive desires whereas the second is the opposite and caters to base pleasures and disregards reason. Even if it does seem to use reason, it is merely a façade underlying countless logical fallacies invisible to the common eye. This is why religious and ethical propaganda remains unheeded most of the time whereas social propaganda often flourishes in bringing forth new movements every few decades. In religious propaganda, people are told to suppress their desires and go against their egos towards an ideal. Since most people are weak and lack mental strength, they cannot bring themselves to follow such proselytizing ideas which demand forsakenness of pointless pleasures. This is why the second type of propaganda is much more preferred since it caters to our whims and desires. Economic propaganda tells us to purchase more, to consume, to bring joy to our lives through material goods and wealth. Social propaganda tells us to stand up for issues that would benefit society as a whole, but in actuality only support our own selves, since most people only stand up for those issues and join those groups whose viewpoints and manifestos they are inclined towards emotionally without discussing the reasoning behind such viewpoints in detail; similar is the case with political propaganda. By making ourselves aware and asking the question, “Am I merely following this message because of its emotional and hedonistic appeal, or have I come to the conclusion of following it out of sound reason and logic?” we can discern between right and wrong acutely and make solid decisions whose foundation is rational judgment.

Techniques of Propaganda

An advantage of understanding propaganda is the useful knowledge of learning about industry practices that propaganda experts use to get people to buy their products so that the next time we buy something, we can make a well-informed decision instead of acting out of shallow impulse. The use of sex appeal, corporate buzz words, use of psychoanalysis etcetera are all tools that advertisers use to attract attention to their products and encourage people to buy them. In fact, even social issues are exploited to promote products regardless of the consequences that societies have to face as a result of manipulation of such delicate matters. An example would be the exploitation of the women’s rights movement in the United States of America by Edward Bernays, often described as “the father of public relations”. He equated cigarettes with being “torches of freedom” for the first wave of feminism and encouraged women to be open about their smoking habits and promoted smoking to non-smoking women as well. Obviously, the idea behind the promotion of cigarettes was not women’s emancipation but rather the profits that these women would bring to the cigarette companies especially the American Tobacco Company of which Bernays was a part.

 What this shows is the grim reality of malignant advertisement practices done by companies at the expense of the common folk. Citing works of writers such as Gustave Le Bon, Wilfred Trotter, and Sigmund Freud, he described the masses as irrational and subject to herd instinct—and outlined how skilled practitioners could use crowd psychology and psychoanalysis to control them in desirable ways (Bernays and Ewen). Hence, if someone knows corporate practices of manipulating the masses, or even has a slight gist of it, he or she can make better and more informed decisions and not be a part of the herd instinct of which Bernays boasted about.

A Rudimentary Conclusion

It can be seen with great clarity the kind of role propaganda plays in our lives. Ignoring an issue having enormous implications for our society would be an ignorant and mindless act. Only by understanding the factors that govern our day-to-day activities can we hope to achieve a level of self-awareness that would make us worthy of possessing consciousness. If we are unable to cling to this standard of awareness, we end up being no more than animals in our mannerisms, albeit slightly more intelligent.