Edward Bernays 1891-1995
The report found the richest 10% of adults accounted for 85% of the world total global assets. Half the world’s adult population owned barely 1% of global wealth. (Guardian, 6 December 2006)
There has always been inequality in our societies and for many reasons, some morally arguable but others unquestionably a shameful indictment of humanity. During the time of kings and emperors and throughout the centuries since the rise of usury, more politely termed as “banking” today, great wealth has underpinned great power and so shaped the policy of nations.
But in the modern age of progressive enlightenment, which we claim as the bedrock of our “altruistic” political, economic and social systems, how can it remain acceptable that millions of people, including helpless children, starve to death as millions more watch their suffering on television whilst excusing themselves every reason to reverse their own decline into obesity?
Why is it we will make sacrifices in order to consume the latest goods and services, often luxuries we merely want but don’t actually need, but won’t make a comparable sacrifice to save human beings from the despair of life threatening poverty? Are we evil, misguided, deranged, incapable of behaving morally?
Imagine if most of us, if left to our own volition and perhaps even instinct, tended towards moral behaviour by default. We’d all like to think that was true. Then imagine a powerful force that acted to subvert our conscious desire and provoked and promoted our darkest nature. Imagine a force that lurked beneath and perverted every honest principle upon which we imagine our societies to be based. Such a force exists, it is very real and the chilling evidence of its domination over every aspect of our lives is hidden in plain sight.
Who or what could be behind such corruption? A religious devil, a supernatural demonic power? The answer is less dramatic and has a name. Edward Bernays.
In 2002 the BBC commenced its award winning four part series, “The Century of the Self”, with an examination of the generally forgotten but fundamental role Bernays played in the debasement of our societies by developing a new and destructive science designed to assault the human subconscious and direct our darkest and most basic emotions and instincts for the purpose of generating financial profit.
Bernays termed his scientific technique the “engineering of consent”. We know it by any of its common names, propaganda, brainwashing and public relations.
Adam Curtis, producer of “The Century of the Self”, certainly travelled a less worn path in his documentary and should be commended. But there were certain routes he refused to take, the ways that would have lead to ultimate truths about why we fight wars, why we consume, why we stuff our faces and watch other human beings starving to death.
After its release, David Edwards, co-editor at MediaLens.org, was quick to point out the irony of Curtis, “reproduc[ing] exactly the kind of deceptive spin that Bernays used to camouflage the truth about big business control.” – MediaLens, The Unspoken Rule of Media Reporting: The BBC’s The Century of the Self , April 2002
Curtis was good enough to respond and the exchange is worth a read. But first, if you haven’t already watched this series, here are all four parts. Highly recommended.
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