Edward Bernays | Father of modern propaganda

"The only difference between ‘propaganda’ and ‘education,’ really, is in the point of view. The advocacy of what we believe in is education. The advocacy of what we don’t believe in is propaganda." Edward Bernays

"When I came back to the United States, I decided that if you could use propaganda for war, you could certainly use it for peace. And “propaganda” got to be a bad word because of the Germans using it, so what I did was to try and find some other words so we found the words “public relations”." Edward Bernays

"Small groups of persons can, and do, make the rest of us think what they please about a given subject. But there are usually proponents and opponents of every propaganda, both of whom are equally eager to convince the majority." Edward Bernays

"The public is not cognizant of the real value of education, and does not realize that education as a social force is not receiving the kind of attention it has the right to expect in a democracy." Edward Bernays

"The three main elements of public relations are practically as old as society: informing people, persuading people, or integrating people with people. Of course, the means and methods of accomplishing these ends have changed as society has changed." Edward Bernays

"We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society." Edward Bernays

"Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society." Edward Bernays

"The best place to find things: the public library." Edward Bernays

"The engineering of consent is the very essence of the democratic process, the freedom to persuade and suggest." Edward Bernays