Synopses & Reviews
Noam Chomsky’s backpocket classic on wartime propaganda and opinion control begins by asserting two models of democracy—one in which the public actively participates, and one in which the public is manipulated and controlled. According to Chomsky, "propaganda is to democracy as the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state," and the mass media is the primary vehicle for delivering propaganda in the United States. From an examination of how Woodrow Wilson’s Creel Commission "succeeded, within six months, in turning a pacifist population into a hysterical, war-mongering population," to Bush Sr.'s war on Iraq, Chomsky examines how the mass media and public relations industries have been used as propaganda to generate public support for going to war. Chomsky further touches on how the modern public relations industry has been influenced by Walter Lippmann’s theory of "spectator democracy," in which the public is seen as a "bewildered herd" that needs to be directed, not empowered; and how the public relations industry in the United States focuses on "controlling the public mind," and not on informing it. Media Control is an invaluable primer on the secret workings of disinformation in democratic societies.
Synopsis
Chomsky's classic lecture on wartime propaganda and opinion control, now available on CD.
Synopsis
On this original recording, Chomsky delivers a provocative lecture exemplary of the media analysis that is his signature. Arguing that “propaganda is to democracy what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state,” Chomsky sketches the triumphs of U.S. propaganda from the Wilson era through the first Bush administration.
Written in the wake of Gulf War I, this insightful lecture touches on the machinations of Bush Sr.’s war propaganda. As such, Media Control is a timely and haunting reminder of propaganda’s proven hazard: the repetition of our most nightmarish history.
Professor Noam Chomsky has been declared “arguably the most important intellectual alive” by The New York Times. He is the author of numerous groundbreaking bestsellers on linguistics, foreign policy and media.
Synopsis
Noam Chomskys backpocket classic on wartime propaganda and opinion control begins by asserting two models of democracy—one in which the public actively participates, and one in which the public is manipulated and controlled. According to Chomsky, "propaganda is to democracy as the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state," and the mass media is the primary vehicle for delivering propaganda in the United States. From an examination of how Woodrow Wilsons Creel Commission "succeeded, within six months, in turning a pacifist population into a hysterical, war-mongering population," to Bush Sr.'s war on Iraq, Chomsky examines how the mass media and public relations industries have been used as propaganda to generate public support for going to war. Chomsky further touches on how the modern public relations industry has been influenced by Walter Lippmanns theory of "spectator democracy," in which the public is seen as a "bewildered herd" that needs to be directed, not empowered; and how the public relations industry in the United States focuses on "controlling the public mind," and not on informing it. Media Control is an invaluable primer on the secret workings of disinformation in democratic societies.
Synopsis
NOAM CHOMSKY is known throughout the world for his political and philosophical writings as well as for his groundbreaking linguistics work. He has taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology since 1955 and remains one of America's most uncompromising voices of dissent.
From the Audiobook Download edition.
About the Author
NOAM CHOMSKY is a professor in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Chomsky has written and lectured widely on linguistics, philosophy, intellectual history, contemporary issues, international affairs and U.S. foreign policy.