Century of Self (Edward Bernays)

This is my favorite documentary of all time.
part 1:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article12642.htm

quotes I liked:
human beings could not be trusted to make important decisions on a rational basis.
Walter Lipman (leading political analyist): What was needed was a new elite. They would control the unconscious feeling of the massess using unconscious feeling.
Understand how the popular mind works, specifically figure out how to apply strategies to achieve social control.
Edward Bernays was fascinated by Lipman's arguments. (rofl, no kidding)

• Stumulating inner desires, and creating a new line of products to satiate them. He called it "the engineering of consent"
• Democracy, to my father, was a wonderful concept. But I dont think he felt the public out there had reliable judgement. (Ann Bernays, daughter of Edward)
• They had to be enlightened from above. You can tap into their deepest desires or fears and use that.
  
• In 1928 President Hoover (agreed with Bernays) was the first politician to articulate the idea.
• "Consumerism had become the american way of life. He told corporations: You have taken over desire, and have transformed the people into constantly seeking happiness machines. This is the key to economic progress."
• Ann Barnays: "people who worked for him were stupid, children were stupid" (lololol)
• he would be shocked in 1929. There was a battle Commercialism vs Socialism. The world rejected democracy, it unleashed the selfish demonism, but didnt have the means to control it: example was the depression (chaos, unemployment it lead to).
  
• Humans must be discontent, it is the only way to control them.
• Rooselvelt saved democracy, with the implementation of the New Deal. Lassez Faire could no longer run democracy. Big Business was
  
• Freud book: Civilization is actually constructed to control the dangerous feelings.
• Freedom was impossible. Human beings could never be allowed to express themselves, it was too dangerous. They must always be controlled and thus always be discontent. It was the only way to keep them into limits.
• Rooselvelt temporarily saved democracy, with the implementation of the New Deal. Lassez Faire capitalism could no longer run industrialised economies. Big Business was horrified. The Nazis loved the New Deal. They said "I belive P. Roosevelt has chosen the correct path".
  
• Unlike the Nazis, he believed human beings were rational, and could be trusted to take
  Gallop rejected the idea of Propaganda. They believed opinion polling was the way. Sensible citizens who could take part in the running of the country. To corporations, this was the beginning of a dictatorship. Enemies of him: "The way to get recovery, is to let business alone"
  
• Business decided to fight back and regain power. National Association of Manufactorers (which still exists) was created to fight back. INCREDIBLE!!!!
• Big business now inserted their interests not only on billboards, but in editorials and newspapers.
• The government released a video to watch for signs of hidden bias. It was no match for Edward Bernays.
  
• INSANITY!!
  
• He inferred that democracy and capatilism went together.
• It depending on treating people as passing consumers. People's desires are in charge. Trigger the needs and desires and you can get what you need from them.
• WWII changed everything. The government changed its mind, and decided there were savage desires in human beings. They set out to control these inner desires. (Crazy idea since they came from government in the first place!)
• Edward Barneys did work for not only the government, but the CIA.
• Military use after WWII
  
• 49% of all solders sent back were because of mental problems (home sickness). In desperation, the army turned to psycho analysis.
  
• Stress of combat brought back memories from when they were a child.
• The ratio of the irrational vs the rational influence in america is in the favor of the irrational. There is much more suffering & unhappiness. It is sad compared with the impression from the advertisements.
• 
  

On this topic, my favorite documentary of all time covers everything:
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article12646.htm

The engineering of consent is the very essence of the democratic process, the freedom to persuade and suggest.
– (Edward L. Bernays, "The Engineering of Consent," 1947)

The example highlights the fact that nobody has an interest in encouraging people to care. Big Business wants the people to consume. Government wants the people to stay uninvolved in anything that creates real change.
.... so if you feel yourself making decisions based on being pissed off, excited, or scared, know you are being manipulated. If Advertising, articles, TV, "media" was not able to do this... then why would companies pay $Trillions for the service?

• Democracy, to my father, was a wonderful concept. But I dont think he felt the public out there had reliable judgment. (Ann Bernays, daughter of Edward)
• Edward Bernays convinced big business and government: The people had to be enlightened from above. You can tap into their deepest desires or fears and use that.
• In 1928 President Hoover (who agreed with Bernays) was the first politician to articulate the idea.
• Humans must be discontent, it is the only way to control them.
• * President Hoover: "Consumerism had become the american way of life. He told corporations: You have taken over desire, and have transformed the people into constantly seeking happiness machines. This is the key to economic progress."