"The concious manipulation of the opinion of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this constitute an invisible government, which is the true ruling power of our country". -Edward Bernays.

submitted by HibikiBlackCaudillo from external-content.duckduckgo.com

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[–]HibikiBlackCaudillo[S] 8 insightful - 2 fun8 insightful - 1 fun9 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

A lot of people aren't confortable with the idea that the government could manipulate them with bad intentions, so what better way of proving that we are right than with a quote from the father of modern brainwashing, Eddy Bernays himself?

It's a quote from Bernays saying that the people who manipulate public opinion are the true rulers of the country and he would know, considering he helped create the modern consumer society with the ideas he took from his uncle Freud.

[–]JasonCarswellPlatinum Foil Fedora 4 insightful - 2 fun4 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

https://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-the-conscious-and-intelligent-manipulation-of-the-organised-habits-and-opinions-of-the-edward-bernays-59-88-46.jpg

[–]RightousBob 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

"The Century of Self" should be mandatory viewing for everyone!

[–]RightousBob2 1 insightful - 2 fun1 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

What they said ^ :}

[–]Alan_Crowe 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

That is why I think of the system of government in the USA as indirect-plutocracy. The rich buy the news media and tell people how to vote. If people felt obliged to do as they were told, that would be plutocracy. In practice, the rich have to manipulate the people. The rich don't just get to say: vote for invading Syria. They have to get their newspapers to run chlorine gas stories and astro-turf invading Syria. And it doesn't always work. The rich don't always get their way, because the don't rule directly.