Propaganda by Jacques Ellul

Propaganda: The Formation Of Men's Attitudes By Jacques Ellul A Review by David Edwards Jacques Ellul published this lengthy analysis of the techniques of propaganda in 1962, with the aim of presenting an objective sociological exploration of the methods used to manipulate group opinions into action. He remarks in the preface; "Not only is propaganda itself a technique, it is also an indispensable condition for the development of technical progress and the establishment of a technological civilisation." It is difficult to conduct a statistical analysis, reliant on clinically reproduced empirical data, on the effects of propaganda. This is due to the technique's uniquely collectivised and subjective attributes and effects, which are largely dependent on the unreproducible and specific factors of situation and context. His text exploring propaganda is based more in observational sociological analysis, similar to Le Bon's exploration of mass psychology, and less like Bernays' or Packard's example laden anecdotes whilst exploring public relations and motivational research in advertising. Like all forms of marketing, it is important for the propagandist to know the cultural context, customs, current thought and stereotypes of the audience to be targeted, as whilst propaganda seeks to shape the environment both physical and mental, it must first have a broad scope of the terrain from which this desired vision is to be moulded. Propaganda is a method of inventing unambiguous political myths, to inspire its subjects to action, or accepting a desired viewpoint with little resistance or debate. "Through the myth it creates, propaganda imposes a complete range of intuitive knowledge, susceptible of only one interpretation, unique and one-sided, and precluding any divergence. The myth becomes so powerful that it invades every area of consciousness, leaving no faculty or motivation intact."