He supported he examples by using select rumors from newspapers and how they influenced stock prices. This example can be seen on a daily basis through CNN Money and other news sources. His examples can still be found today, and one can observe similar reactions as those described in Bernay's work.
Chapter VI explores how propaganda influences public leadership and how politicians use these techniques in a deliberate attempt to influence public opinion. Bernay sees the public and the American voter as an apathetic group. Bernay talks about how the modern leader must be able to create circumstances for their own benefit, using an example of how Czecho-Slovakia suddenly became a free state on a Monday, as opposed to a Sunday. The announcement was made so that it would be timely and presented at a time when more people would hear the news and would be more receptive.
Chapters VII, VIII, IX and X give examples of how propaganda is used in various segments of society and the changes that it has made in these areas. Bernay found examples of propaganda in women's issues, education, social service, and the arts and sciences. Chapter XI explores the mechanics of propaganda on a macro level, rather than from the individual psychological standpoint presented in Chapter II. Bernay makes extensive...
The quality and number of examples is the key to making his thesis believable. However, the most remarkable quality of his argument is that one can still see similar examples in action today. The ideas presented by Bernay form the basis of modern advertising, advertising and manipulation of individual purchase choices has evolved from being viewed as a tool in Bernay's time, into a separate and acceptable science of its own.
For the historian, Bernay's work should serve as a word of caution. Historians often use newspaper articles or popular published works to form their view of a piece of history or of a particular time period or event. Bernay's work reminds the historian to use these sources using a critical lens. The historian must be careful not to carry the bias or slant into their own work. Bernay examines the power of persuasion and how it was, and still is, used to sway public opinion. Sources cannot be taken at face value, but must be critically assessed before being used in historical works.
Works Cited
Bernay, E. History is a Weapon. Propaganda. 1928.
Accessed May 11, 2009.
