An Essay on Propaganda

May we start with a question  – what first comes to your mind when we say or you hear the word “propaganda?”  And by that we mean – a negative connotation, perhaps?  Positive?  A specific incident or example (e.g. Nazi propaganda about Jews?)  Political advertisements?  Government announcements?  TV advertising?

Just catalog your response in your memory as we proceed, please.

In order to write this essay we went to a website – www.preservearticles.com and searched the word – propaganda.  Our purpose was to seek out and encapsulate what others have had to say about this word and its meaning to them.  And then share it with our readers.

First, we ran into an article itemizing the “agencies” of social control meaning the influencing components of our society.   Here they are:  family, neighborhood, church, religion, the school, law, administration, force, public opinion, propaganda.  Here is their description of propaganda –

“Propaganda is a systematic attempt by a individual or individuals to control the attitudes of people through suggestions and consequently, their actions. With the development of means of mass communication, propaganda has become an effective means of social control. The state controls the people through this powerful means of social control namely propaganda.” 

Source:  http://www.preservearticles.com/201102224106/10-important-agencies-of-social-control.html

A different essayist summarized the “agencies” of propaganda, meaning the various distribution forms and outlets for propaganda  –

Press, platform (speeches), broadcasting, cinema, educational institutions, legislature, political parties.  Source:  http://www.preservearticles.com/201106278680/7-different-agencies-which-can-mould-public-opinion.html

TheFundamentals does not entirely subscribe to the above definition, or frankly even the seven “agencies” listed above, because they are too limited and do not reflect the most basic of all agencies – those of economic survival.   In other words – job, workplace, employer, fellow employees, union organizations, corporate culture, etc.   Also, there are factors in the nature or content of propaganda that are too important to be lumped in the ambiguous phrase – “control the attitudes of people through suggestions….”  So, with this reservation in mind, we went to an essay that deals very specifically with the workings of propagandists and their techniques and goals. 

The following quotes come from this essay about the workings of propaganda in a society or culture (source:  http://www.preservearticles.com/201108019649/685-words-essay-on-value-of-propaganda.html)

“The most effective propaganda is often completely truthful, but some propaganda presents facts selectively to encourage a particular synthesis, or gives loaded messages in order to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented.

Propaganda has become more common in political contexts, in particular to refer to certain efforts sponsored by governments, political groups, but also often covert interests.

Propaganda, in a narrower use of the term, connotes deliberately false or misleading information that supports or furthers a political (but not only) cause or the interests of those with power. The propagandist seeks to change the way people understand an issue or situation for the purpose of changing their actions and expectations in ways that are desirable to the interest group.

What sets propaganda apart from other forms of advocacy is the willingness of the propagandist to change people's understanding through deception and confusion rather than persuasion and understanding. The leaders of an organization know the information to be one sided or untrue, but this may not be true for the rank and file members who help to disseminate the propaganda.

Common media for transmitting propaganda messages include news reports, government reports, historical revision, junk science, books, leaflets, movies, radio, television, and posters. In the case of radio and television, propaganda can exist on news, current-affairs or talk-show segments, as advertising or public-service announce "spots" or as long-running advertorials.”

In our next several essays we are going to see if we can create an understanding about the state of propaganda as it exists in the United States of America today.  We will also look at some of the implications of controlling messages and media for hidden purposes – hidden interests – those who fall into those groups mentioned above – “...political cause or the interests of those with power.”

This is a lot to digest in one essay – a look at the propaganda process – and the agencies of social control in a society – and the workings of propagandists.  We think of propaganda as a manipulation of both message and media - perhaps for good purposes; perhaps not.  We hope these essays will help us understand propaganda; perhaps even change the way we experience propaganda.  More to come.