How has an emphasis on our unconscious desires become a method for social control and manipulations?
Does bernays believe that democracy can function without manipulating the masses? Do you agree or disagree with his conclusions?
How to control dangerous crowds in democratic society-by satisfy their needs/make them happy(happy principle?)
Bernays-First one to take Freud’s idea and use to manipulate human beings
Freud’s idea was unacceptable before cuz the idea of manage your feeling is a threat to people in control of power-feeling depressed is too dangerous(huh?)
Propaganda-mass persuasion
Bernays came up the terms of “public relations”
Hidden irrational instinct in human beings/information drives behaviours
Bernays start the experiments to persuade women to smoke->double the market
What does cigarettes means to women, cigar means penises to man(represent male power), so challenge the idea of male power, women will start to smoke.
Women smoke in public-“Torches of freedom”-liberty-emotional elements. He made it socially acceptable with one simple symbol
Its possible to persuade people act irrationally-how do you want to be seen by others-they are not just purchase something, they are engage with themselves. You are not just buying new clothes, you feel good after purchased a new clothes.
Mass production and the worry of Danger of over production-the products were promoted by function. Transform the way people’s thought about product, shift needs to desire.
Desire must overshadow it’s needs-have the things you don’t really need, but the things you really want
Mass consumer persuasion
Product placement in movie-you are not just buying thing for needs, but also for innate self desire-“express yourself in your dress”
“Consumptions” no longer about citizen, but consumers
First time politics became involved with public relations-persuade people to believe certain things about certain people-president of u.s. bernay mad Freud acceptable at u.s.
aggressive forces instincts in human beings can be triggered in crowds
If people are driven by irrational forces, then the idea of democracy should be rethinks
Notion of animal drive/hidden drive-how popular minds works, how to apply those strategies for social control
Engineering of consent-New way to manage consumers(people are easily to guided by wrong desire/vote for wrong man)
Public relations-job is to create desire and transform people into happy machine
Idea of democracy is about challenging/maintain the relation of power-psychological lie-if you can constantly evoke irrational desire, ruling class can maintain in power.
Civilization is method to control animal drive-human being should never allow to express their feelings cuz they are really dangerous
Tapping into the unconscious
The idea of democracy and how it can be used to manipulate people
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Roosevelt believe that people are rational and take a active part in government(public opinion and satisfaction) people could be trusted about what they wanted
Scientific polling-you couldn’t trust public opinion-good decision to offer true democracy
What Roosevelt did is Forging a new connection between mass and politician(business decide to fight back and argues that they should leave the business alone, remain private. Carry out ideological warfare-national association of manufacturer)-Create emotional relations between consumers and organizations
“Business create the america, not politician” by using billboard and newspaper—manipulation of the press, deceiving the public
Vision of utopia of free-market-theme links between democracy and American
World fair is to keep status quo-capitalism in democracy, manipulate people to believe that they cannot have democracy without capitalism. (Democracy and capitalism went together-new form of democracy, meet people’s desire. People are not active citizen, but passive consumer-not people in charge, but people’s desire in charge)
Trigger those needs and desire about what you actually “want”-irrational desire
