Propaganda, to be effective, must have some core of truth
From time to time readers send me suggestions. Some are helpful. Recently two books were suggested, "Propaganda" by Jacques Ellul and "Manipulating the Masses" by John Hamilton.
Ellul’s book, written about 60 years ago, is a theoretical treatment of propaganda as it had burgeoned in the 20th century. It is a bit dated now, but the principles he elucidates are as timely today as they were when Bolshevism was powerful, and fascism, although recently defeated, had shown the power propaganda has to shape a society.
Hamilton’s book, written in 2020, gives chapter and verse on the propaganda machine built by the Wilson presidency in furthering America’s war aims in World War I. Both make fascinating reading.
Both are exceptionally timely because America today is rife with propaganda emanating, mostly, from the political left designed to thoroughly change the foundations of American society as it has existed since the founding.
Ellul’s book suffers from his too broad definition of any type of persuasive speech or action as propaganda. In any event, all propaganda is designed, sooner or later, to lead to action to overthrow the regime, or state of affairs, that the propagandists find wanting. To do this, discontent with the existing order must be sown and a vision of some beatific tomorrow must be substituted in its place.
Ellul exhaustively shows the methods of propaganda, the psychology, the sociology and the institutions necessary for success. These are much too detailed for me to discuss in this brief essay, but a few points stand out.
First, there must be discontent. This is easy, since no society known to man is perfect. Although the 1950s in which I grew up was a time of America's success in the world, having defeated the unspeakable evil of the Axis, rapidly growing prosperity ever more widely spread, great gains in science, technology, household comforts, speed and reliability of transportation, and on and on.
Nevertheless there were problems. Some folks were left behind. There was still legal segregation. Environmental issues became more evident. As things got better, what excuse was there for not fixing those things which were not better? Progress, though undeniable, was too slow for many.
I should point out that even in a perfect society, there will be those who are discontented. Did not Lucifer, and many angels, rebel against God in Heaven? Did not Adam and Eve, in Paradise, disobey God? Did not John Milton, in his epic "Paradise Lost," have Satan say it is better to rule in hell than serve in heaven? The propagandist has available discontented individuals, and problems, not to say purported evils, which cry out for justice.
The master propagandist, Joseph Goebbels, in service to the Nazi regime, put these together with horrifying results. Goebbels knew, as Ellul makes clear, that propaganda, to be effective, must have some core of truth — some objective fact that can be pointed to, and then a massive web of lies to lead to desired action. The lies are a function of the interpretation of the carefully selected facts, not the facts themselves.
Goebbels insisted, to the very end of the war, that Nazi propaganda should be as truthful as possible, otherwise it could backfire badly. Great Britain, during WWI, hugely propagandized the German “Rape of Belgium”, asserting all sorts of German atrocities which had not, in fact, been committed. During WWII, when reports of Nazi death camps came to be circulated, these were largely dismissed as more Allied propaganda — disinformation to use the contemporary term — since they had so recently been caught in outright lies.
Goebbels, and Ellul, also knew that propaganda had to fall on fertile soil. Trying to overthrow the existing order requires careful preparation. Schools especially must be enlisted in the effort. True believers must be in charge of societal institutions, and, above all, the propaganda must be as universal and unremitting as possible. Dissent must be suppressed.
Next week I’ll examine current examples of these principles being put into play.
Charles Milliken is a professor emeritus after 22 years of teaching economics and related subjects at Siena Heights University. He can be reached at milliken.charles@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Charles Milliken: Propaganda, to be effective, must have some truth
