It is arguable that the success of business propaganda in persuading us, for so long, that we are free from propaganda is one of the most significant propaganda achievements of the twentieth century.
Interpretation
The quote critiques the illusion of freedom from propaganda in modern society, suggesting it's a significant achievement of manipulative messaging.
Alex Carey's quote emphasizes the paradox of propaganda in contemporary life, highlighting how the belief in our freedom from influence is, in itself, a form of successful propaganda. This insight reveals the subtle ways in which public perception is shaped by powerful narratives that convince individuals they are unaffected by external manipulation, thereby illuminating the complexity of choice and freedom in a media-saturated world.
In practice
In a discussion on media influence, I shared this quote to highlight how we often perceive our choices as independent when they may be shaped by unseen forces.
Into this wild-beast tangle these men had been born without their consent, they had taken part in it because they could not help it; that they were in jail was no disgrace to them, for the game had never been fair, the dice were loaded. They were swindlers and thieves of pennies and dimes, and they had been trapped and put out of the way by the swindlers and thieves of millions of dollars.
There is no point in being overwhelmed by the appalling total of human sufferring; such a total does not exist. Neither poverty nor pain is accumulable.
A man may build himself a throne of bayonets, but he cannot sit on it.
The partisan strife in which the people of the country are permitted to periodically engage does not tend to the development of ugly traits of character, but merely discloses those that preexist.
Your goal is not to battle with the mind, but to witness the mind.
I hope that people of all faiths will start looking for our too-invisible children who are crying out for help.
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