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It is insufficient to ignore blatant advertising. For example, if you live in the US, then you are part of a society that has been subjected to ~ 100 years of corporate propaganda. > The prominent business analyst Roger Babson remarked in 1921 that "the war taught us the power of propaganda. Now when we have anything to sell the American people, we know how to sell it." Edward Bernays, too, noted that the "astounding success of propaganda during the war opened the eyes of the intelligent few in all departments of life to the possibilities of regimenting the public mind." [1] Corporate PR got into US schools in the '30s: > Aware that the adult population was cynical about the corporate claims to "service", they aimed specifically at schools, where Young America, their weekly children's magazine that portrayed capitalism as dedicated to looking after them and their communities, was sent to thousands of teachers, who used them in classroom assignments. You and Industry, a series of booklets written in simple language, linked individual prosperity to unregulated industry, and was distributed to public libraries everywhere. One million booklets were distributed every two weeks by the US Chamber of Commerce, which, along with the giant industrial corporations, was also involved in the campaign. [1] Get 'em while they're young, before they have the mental tools to defend themselves. [1] Kerryn Higgs - "Collision Course: Endless Growth on a Finite Planet" |
Explains why socialism is so popular round these parts. (trollgrin)