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Selling War - by Stephen Lendman
Throughout its history, America glorified wars in the name of peace. From inception, they're perpetuated against one or more domestic or foreign adversaries.
They include mass killing, assaults and abuse. Pacifism's called sissy or unpatriotic. Propaganda insists America's peace-loving. In fact, more than ever today, it's addicted to permanent war and violence.
Nonetheless, initiating them requires public support. Famed US journalist Walter Lippmann coined the phrase "manufacture of consent." It's a euphemism for mind control.
In 1917, George Creel first used it successfully to turn pacifist Americans into raging German-haters. It works the same way now. In 1916, Woodrow Wilson was reelected on a pledge of: "He Kept Us Out of War." Straightaway, he began planning US involvement.
In April 1917, he established the Committee on Public Information (CPI or Creel Committee). It operated through August 1919. Its mission was enlisting public support for war and undermining opposition sentiment.
Corporate America was so impressed, it recruited Edward Bernays, a nephew of Sigmund Freud. He became a PR/propaganda pioneer. His 1928 book titled "Propaganda" said it's possible to "regiment the public mind every bit as much as an army regiments their bodies."
"If we understand the mechanism and motives of the group mind, is it not possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without their knowing about it?"
He called the technique the "engineering of consent." He invented the press release. One of his most successful campaigns involved convincing women to smoke in public when it was considered taboo. He pursuaded business that news, not advertising, best manipulates public opinion.
He drew on Freudian psychoanalytic ideas. In an age of mass production, he believed techniques were needed to distribute ideas the same way. On behalf of United Fruit, his propaganda campaign helped overthrow Guatemala's democratically elected Jacobo Arbenz Guzman.
His pioneering PR techniques got Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter to describe him and Ivy Lee as "professional poisoners of the public mind, exploiters of foolishness, fanaticism and self-interest."
In his 1947 book titled, "The Engineering of Consent," he called it "the very essence of the democratic process, the freedom to persuade and suggest." In fact, it's used manipulatively more for ill, than good, especially in selling war.
Australian-born social psychologist Alex Carey helped pioneer the study of corporate propaganda. His seminal work is titled, "Taking the Risk Out of Democracy : Corporate Propaganda versus Freedom and Liberty."
He said "The twentieth century has been characterized by three developments of great political importance: the growth of democracy, the growth of corporate power, and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate power against democracy."
Using Deception to Launch Wars
Coalition to Oppose Arms Trade coordinator Richard Sanders said:
