This is a brief, but excellent introduction to the history of control and manipulation of public opinion by "public relations" agents of the Empire. The management of dissent (and consent) is one of the most vital activities of the One Percent ruling class to maintain their dominance over the homeland so that they can continue their empire abroad. And, because it is so vital, enormous time and resources have been invested in it by the ruling One Percent. It is now so perfected and refined that most people are completely unaware of how much their views are shaped by ruling class media and educational institutions.
“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society,” Bernays wrote in Propaganda. “Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of.”The colonization of our minds by propaganda agents of the One Percent is the primary reason that we have failed to overturn a system and class rule that should have been overturned a century ago. Thus, I have long argued (since the late 1960s) that the only way to overturn the system of capitalism which provides our ruling class with so much power and wealth would be the development of alternative independent media and education organized by the 99 Percent. If we continue to fail to do this, we can only look forward to a future of more concentration of wealth amid widespread poverty, endless wars, police state measures, and climate destabilization.
