Jash Dholani
@oldbooksguy
12 thoughts from Propaganda (1965) by Jacques Ellul

You'll never look at news the same way again...

1. Modern man can "never stop to reflect." He's not allowed to synthesize his information. Rather, Ellul writes: "One thought drives away another; old facts are chased by new ones."

2. Clear thought has been replaced by vague feeling: "Modern man does not think about current problems; he feels them. He reacts, but be does not understand them any more than he takes responsibility for them."

3. Breaking news is brainwashing you. Ellul: "To the extent that propaganda is based on current news, it cannot permit time for thought or reflection." When everything is urgent, you are forced to "remain on the surface of the event."

4. Jacques Ellul predicted echo chambers: "Those who read the press of their group and listen to the radio of their group are constantly reinforced in their allegiance. We see before our eyes how a world of closed minds establishes itself."

5. Ellul on how the modern man lacks a center of gravity: "Lacking landmarks, he follows all currents." His soul is "discontinuous and fragmented." Life reduced to unconnected moments...

6. Everyone can read but not everyone can think. This makes propaganda more, not less, common. Ellul: "The vast majority of people, perhaps 90 percent, know how to read, but do not exercise their intelligence beyond this. They attribute authority and eminent value to the printed word...they are precisely on the level at which the printed word can seize and convince them without opposition."