Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes (1965/1973) (; original French edition: 1962) is a book on the subject of propaganda by French philosopher, theologian, legal scholar, and sociologist Jacques Ellul. It presents a sophisticated taxonomy for propaganda, including such paired opposites as political–sociological, vertical–horizontal, rational–irrational, and agitation–integration. The book contains Ellul's theories about the nature of propaganda to adapt the individual to a society, to a living standard, and to an activity aiming to make the individual serve and conform.
Author After being discharged as a professor from French universities by the Vichy regime Ellul became a leader in the French resistance during World War II.Ellul, Jacques. (1964) The Technological Society. New York: Vintage Books, from the translator's introduction by John Wilkinson, p. ix. After the Liberation of France, he became a professor at the University of Bordeaux and wrote 58 books and numerous articles over his lifetime, the dominant theme of which has been the threat to human freedom created by modern technology.
Background history As early as 1928, Edward Bernays recognized propaganda as a modern instrument to produce productive ends and "help bring order out of chaos".Bernays, Edward. "Propaganda" (1928) Because of its secrecy it has been difficult to determine what constitutes propaganda and what the nature of propaganda is. For a time from 1920 to around 1933, propaganda was simplistically viewed as being able to modify sentiments and attitudes of individuals without their being conscious. That limited perspective of propaganda as being able to influence the individual psychologically was prevalent.
The Institute for Propaganda Analysis from 1937, inspired by Harold Lasswell defined propaganda as "the expression of opinions or actions carried out deliberately by individuals or groups with a view to influencing the opinions or actions of other individuals or groups for predetermined ends and through psychological manipulations".Ellul, Jacques (1965). Introduction by Konrad Kellen in Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes, pp. xi–xii. Trans. Konrad Kellen & Jean Lerner from original 1962 French edition Propagandes. Knopf, New York. (1973 edition by Vintage Books, New York).
This definition seemed more accurate and was supported by others such as Goebbels, a German propagandist, who stated, "We do not talk to say something, but to obtain a certain effect".Ellul, Jacques (1965). Introduction by Konrad Kellen in Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes, p. x. Trans. Konrad Kellen & Jean Lerner from original 1962 French edition Propagandes. Knopf, New York. (1973 edition by Vintage Books, New York). Similarly, F.C. Bartlett held an interpretation of the goal of propaganda as not merely an instrument to increase political understanding of events, but as a means to obtain results through action. Ellul supports the idea that propaganda is made primarily because of a will to action for the purpose of effectively arming policy made by the state.
Leonard Doob, an American specialist, defined propaganda in 1948 as "the attempt to affect the personalities and to control the behavior of individuals towards desired ends".Origins of mass communications research during the American Cold War ... p. 22 by Timothy Richard Glander – Language Arts & Disciplines – (2000) Unending definitions show the uncertainty among specialists and the inability of definitions to encompass all that is propaganda. Just because the term propaganda cannot be defined with any degree of precision does not mean that attempts to define it should be abandoned. Ellul's definition in 1973 was as follows:
In this book Ellul but argued that modern propaganda was intended to spark action towards a desired response by developing learned attitudes, and that it drew from scientific analyses of psychology and sociology. Ellul took the view that prior attempts to define propaganda generally left out the sociological side.
Summary of chapters Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes is divided into five substantive chapters discussing Ellul's analysis. Introduction Regardless of the State, propaganda should be viewed as situated at the center of the growing powers of governmental and administrative techniques.
Chapter One: Characteristics of Propaganda Modern propaganda is a technique that requires an analysis of both environment and individual to be subjected to propaganda. Therefore, it is based on scientific analyses of psychology and sociology. Sufficient understanding of these two areas creates the most effective propaganda, and without the scientific research of modern psychology and sociology there would be no propaganda. "Step by step the propagandist builds the techniques on the basis of his knowledge of man, his tendencies, his desires, his needs, his psychic mechanisms, his conditioning, and as much on social psychology as on depth psychology."Ellul, Jacques (1973). Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes, p. 4. Trans. Konrad Kellen & Jean Lerner. Vintage Books, New York. . Part One: External Characteristics Propaganda is first and foremost concerned with influencing an individual psychologically by creating convictions and compliance through imperceptible techniques that are effective only by continuous repetition. Propaganda employs encirclement on the individual by trying to surround man by all possible routes, in the realm of feelings as well as ideas, by playing on his will or his needs through his conscious and his unconscious, and by assailing him in both his private and his public life.Ellul, Jacques (1973). Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes, p. 11. Trans. Konrad Kellen & Jean Lerner. Vintage Books, New York. . The propagandist also acknowledges the most favorable moment to influence man is when an individual is caught up in the masses. Propaganda must be total in that utilizes all forms of media to draw the individual into the net of propaganda. Propaganda is designed to be continuous within the individual's life by filling the citizen's entire day. It is based on slow constant impregnation that functions over a long period of time exceeding the individual's capacities for attention or adaptation and thus his capabilities of resistance. In order for propaganda to maintain encirclement, it must be exerted by an organization capable of influencing psychological channels that reach the individual. Psychological and physical actions are inseparable elements to propaganda, however, if no influence is exerted by an organization then there can be no propaganda because it cannot operate in a vacuum. The necessity for a physical organization limits propaganda enterprises and in order to be effective propaganda must work inside a group, principally inside a nation. Propaganda must first organize the masses in order to propagandize within the masses. In general, propaganda is a set of methods employed by an organized group that wants to bring about the active or passive participation in its actions of a mass of individuals, psychologically unified through psychological manipulations and incorporated into an organization.Ellul, Jacques (1973). Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes, p. 61. Trans. Konrad Kellen & Jean Lerner. Vintage Books, New York. . Propaganda should no longer be viewed in terms of an orthodoxy but rather modern propaganda should be seen as an orthopraxy because it aims for participation not adherence. Participation can be active or passive: active if propaganda has been able to mobilize the individual for action; passive if the individual does not act directly but psychologically supports that action.
2. Part Two: Internal Characteristics The second major element that a propagandist must understand is the environment in which the individual operates, mainly the focus on the interest of the public. An understanding of the conventional patterns and stereotypes that pre-exist in a milieu provide the propagandist with material from which to build off. Propaganda is not able to create something out of nothing and is confined to developing pre-existing material thereby expressing the fundamental currents of the society it seeks to influence. These currents include accepted structures such as collective sociological presuppositions and myths that are fundamental to society.
These currents reinforce society and hold man's major convictions and propaganda must voice this reality. Propaganda is concerned with timeliness since an individual is only moved to action if he is pushed towards a timely one by propaganda. Once it becomes history it inevitably becomes neutral and indifferent to the individual who is sensitive primarily to current news. "Operational words" are used to penetrate an individual's indifference. However they lose their value as immediacy passes as old facts are replaced by new ones. The "current events man" is carried along the current of news and caught in the events of today, losing interest in the events of yesterday. The indifferent are apolitical and without opinion, therefore they are outside of propaganda's grasp. Incidentally, there are also the undecided, people whose opinions are vague, who form the majority of citizens within the collective. These citizens are the most susceptible to control of public opinion that is dictated by propaganda. Lastly, this part discusses propaganda and truth or the ability of propaganda to relay something as true based not on the accuracy of facts but of reality. Propaganda veils the truth with falsehoods even though lying is generally to be avoided.
3. Part Three: Categories of Propaganda Presented in this chapter is a sophisticated taxonomy for propaganda, including such paired opposites as political-sociological, vertical-horizontal, rational-irrational, and agitation-integration.
Political vs. Sociological Propaganda: Political Propaganda involves techniques of influence employed by a government, a party, an administration, or a pressure group with the intention of changing the behavior of the public. The themes and objectives of this type of propaganda are of a political nature. The goals are determined by the government, party, administration, or pressure group. The methods of political propaganda are calculated in a precise manner and its main criterion is to disseminate an ideology for the very purpose of making various political acts acceptable to the people.Ellul, Jacques (1973). Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes, p. 64 Trans. Konrad Kellen & Jean Lerner. Vintage Books, New York. . There are two forms of political propaganda, tactical and strategic. Tactical political propaganda seeks to obtain immediate results within a given framework. Strategic political propaganda is not concerned with speed but rather it establishes the general line, the array of arguments, and the staging of campaigns.
Political propaganda reversed is sociological propaganda because the ideology is penetrated by means of its sociological context. Propaganda, as it is traditionally known, implies an attempt to spread an ideology through the mass media of communication in order to lead the public to a desired action. In sociological propaganda even media that are not controllable such as individual art work, films, and writing reflect the ideology allowing for an accelerated penetration of the masses and the individuals within them.Ellul, Jacques (1973). Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes, p. 63. Trans. Konrad Kellen & Jean Lerner. Vintage Books, New York. .