We are dominated by the relatively small number of persons who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind.
Edward BernaysRead
The invisible government tends to be concentrated in the hands of the few because of the expense of manipulating the social machinery which controls the opinions and habits of the masses. To advertise on a scale which will reach fifty million persons is expensive. To reach and persuade the group leaders who dictate the public's thoughts and actions is likewise expensive.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote discusses how a small elite controls public opinion through expensive means of influence.
Edward Bernays highlights the dynamics of power and influence in society, suggesting that a concentrated group, or 'invisible government', wields significant control over the masses through costly methods of persuasion and social manipulation. This elite group shapes public opinion and behavior, indicating that true influence often lies beyond visible governance and is held by those who can afford to manage public perceptions.
Themes
InfluencePowerOpinionManipulationElite
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about media influence, one could reference this quote to emphasize the hidden power structures.
More from Edward Bernays
All quotes →Any person or organization depends ultimately on public approval, and is therefore faced with the problem of engineering the public's consent to a program or goal.
Edward BernaysRead
No serious sociologist any longer believes that the voice of the people expresses any divine or specially wise and lofty idea. The voice of the people expresses the mind of the people, and that mind is made up for it by the group leaders in whom it believes and by those persons who understand the manipulation of public opinion. It is composed of inherited prejudices and symbols and clichés and verbal formulas supplied to them by the leaders.
Edward BernaysRead
We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society.
Edward BernaysRead
Men (people) are rarely aware of the real reasons which motivate their actions.
Edward BernaysRead
If we understand the mechanisms and motives of the group mind, it is now possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without their knowing it In almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind.
Edward BernaysRead
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