Edward Bernays
Список книг автора Edward BernaysPropaganda
"Si lográbamos comprender el mecanismo y los resortes de la mentalidad colectiva, ¿acaso no podríamos controlar a las masas y movilizarlas a voluntad sin que ellas se dieran cuenta? La manipulación consciente, inteligente, de las opiniones y los hábitos organizados de las masas juega un rol crucial en una sociedad democrática. Quienes manipulan ese mecanismo social imperceptible forman un gobierno invisible que realmente dirige el país." Edward Bernays
Edward L. Bernays es doble sobrino de Sigmund Freud (1856-1939): su padre es el hermano de la mujer del fundador del psicoanálisis, mientras que su madre, Anna Freud, es su hermana. Bernays utilizará a menudo esa prestigiosa filiación para promover sus servicios, pero aquello que lo liga con su tío va más allá de esa simple relación familiar: en efecto, la obra de Freud será relevante en la concepción que Bernays desarrollará tanto de la labor que deben cumplir las relaciones públicas, como de los medios que éstas deben poner en práctica. La obra que ustedes están por leer apareció en 1928 con el reivindicado título de Propaganda, y puede ser considerada como una suerte de «tarjeta personal» presentada con convicción a todo cliente susceptible de recurrir a los servicios de la ya floreciente industria de las relaciones públicas creada por Bernays menos de diez años antes.
"La propaganda es a la democracia lo que la violencia es a un Estado totalitario. Si Bernays es el gurú de las relaciones públicas, Propaganda es su manual." Noam Chomsky
Crystallizing Public Opinion
“Crystallizing Public Opinion” is Edward Bernay’s pioneering work on the topic of public relations. Published in 1923, this groundbreaking book laid the foundation for the modern method of mass persuasion through media and advertising. Sometimes referred to as father of public relations, Bernays was one of the most influential Americans of the 20th century. He aimed his insightful advice at governments and corporations who wished to build support or spread a particular message. Bernays related his own experiences as a public relations counsel to numerous organizations, such as helping Lithuania bolster its national identity by spreading positive information about Lithuania to intellectuals, sports fans, and politicians, who in turn would influence others. Bernays recognized the increasing importance of public perception as a matter of interest to both official organizations and private companies. He combined a study of individual human psychology and group identity with an understanding of symbolism and media. Bernays was the first to recognize that to effectively guide public opinion, organizations must control and carefully time the dissemination of their news rather than merely reacting to what is being said by others. “Crystallizing Public Opinion” remains a fascinating and hugely important work in understanding public perception and opinion.
Propaganda
“Bernays’ honest and practical manual provides much insight into some of the most powerful and influential institutions of contemporary industrial state capitalist democracies.”—Noam Chomsky “The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.”—Edward Bernays, Propaganda A seminal and controversial figure in the history of political thought and public relations, Edward Bernays (1891–1995), pioneered the scientific technique of shaping and manipulating public opinion, which he famously dubbed “engineering of consent.” During World War I, he was an integral part of the U.S. Committee on Public Information (CPI), a powerful propaganda apparatus that was mobilized to package, advertise and sell the war to the American people as one that would “Make the World Safe for Democracy.” The CPI would become the blueprint in which marketing strategies for future wars would be based upon. Bernays applied the techniques he had learned in the CPI and, incorporating some of the ideas of Walter Lipmann, became an outspoken proponent of propaganda as a tool for democratic and corporate manipulation of the population. His 1928 bombshell Propaganda lays out his eerily prescient vision for using propaganda to regiment the collective mind in a variety of areas, including government, politics, art, science and education. To read this book today is to frightfully comprehend what our contemporary institutions of government and business have become in regards to organized manipulation of the masses. This is the first reprint of Propaganda in over 30 years and features an introduction by Mark Crispin Miller, author of The Bush Dyslexicon: Observations on a National Disorder .