The nonfiction book Propaganda by Edward Bernays is considered a classic, evergreen text that draws on social science, psychology, and communication studies. The book is not simply about the mechanics of propaganda and communication; it is also a critical examination of the ethical dimensions and societal effects of those practices. In the first four chapters, Bernays delineates the place of propaganda in American life while also revealing some of the methods through which it functions. The text positioned Bernays as the father of public relations

This guide references the 1928 edition, published by the Liveright Publishing Corporation.

Contextual note: The examples in the book reflect the period in which Bernays wrote. As such, most of his examples are about men in roles that today are occupied by everyone. This is reflected in direct quotations from the book.

Summary

Bernays begins by arguing that the opinions and habits of the masses must be deliberately manipulated for a democratic society to function. He asserts that people can cooperate in society because their perceptions of social reality are molded by what Bernays calls an “invisible government.” These experts sift through the data and keep society functioning smoothly and productively. Due to the increasing complexity of modern life and the simultaneous quickening of communication, very few people have time to interpret reality without becoming confused.

Bernays next addresses the negative connotations that became associated with the term “propaganda” after World War I. He suggests that propaganda is a value-neutral term and offers some dictionary definitions. Bernays argues that the practice of propaganda is inevitable and that nothing of “social importance” is accomplished today without it. The necessity of propaganda is self-evident when one understands how the public needs and benefits from the gentle guidance from the invisible government.

Bernays then delves into the unseen intellectual minority that creates propaganda. The task of delivering information designed to influence and change thinking is a responsibility one would not risk sharing, hence the secrecy of the invisible government. The public relations propagandist seeks to counteract information that might cause the public to lose trust in their client. The goal of public relations is to portray “the producer, whether that producer be a legislature making laws or a manufacturer making a commercial product,” as something that is in the public’s best interest (44). The objective of public relations is to be pragmatic in ensuring that the public understands the objectives of the manufacturer or legislature and what is being offered.

Next, the book explores the psychology behind public relations by examining some of the first studies of mass psychology—what Bernays terms the “group mind.” Bernays explains that old forms of propaganda were based on the belief that the public would respond to an idea if it were reiterated enough times. The newer style of propaganda works more indirectly through the process of association. Drawing on Freud, Bernays concludes that the thoughts and actions of individuals are often “compensatory substitutes” for suppressed desires. People are drawn to certain consumer goods because they unconsciously see them as symbols for repressed desires. Bernays applies this idea to crowd psychology, claiming that while it is not an “exact science,” one can still, in “theory and practice,” effectuate some change in public opinion with a certain level of accuracy (48).

Having laid this groundwork, Bernays uses the next chapter to show how propaganda functions in specific areas of business, and he suggests some further ways it might be used. Bernays envisions a partnership between business and the public and maintains that this relationship has become even more intertwined in recent years. Businesses realized that their relationships with the public extend beyond the manufacture and sale of products, which means that a company must sell itself “and all of those things for which it stands” in the mind of the public (62). For a business to prosper, its affairs need to be clear to the public. Bernays sees business as aware of the public conscience and sees this as a “healthy cooperation.” The new techniques and improvements in advertising employed by big businesses appeal to a larger section of the public. Bernays argues that the “attractive and persuasive” circulation of advertisements in newspapers and magazines places the “business man in a personal relation” with this growing public (63).

Moving on to politics and government, Bernays expresses skepticism about the “voice of the people” in a democracy and views political leaders as ineffectual because they focus so much on serving the public interest that they neglect their duty to lead (92). For Bernays, the voice of the people is not particularly relevant because the “mind of the people” is influenced by those who “understand the manipulation of public opinion” (92). In other words, the mind of the people is composed of prejudices, clichés, and “verbal formulas” supplied to them by their leaders. As such, Bernays advocates for political leaders who are capable of forming the will of the people through propaganda.

In the area of social service—what would today be considered public service or awareness campaigns—Bernays contends that all social service activities are propaganda activities. Each campaign is designed to alter people’s habits or opinions about an issue, whether this has to do with dental health, the design of parks, or infant mortality. Social service, Bernays maintains, is identical to propaganda.

Bernays views propaganda in the arts and sciences as an important factor in educating the American public “toward greater art appreciation” (141). He advocates for art galleries to “create public acceptance” for an artist’s work before installing the art in a gallery (141). Public acceptance and general art appreciation are promoted through deliberate propaganda. Propaganda has also created new opportunities for artists in the realm of applied or commercial art. Bernays describes how both art and science were once guarded by learned associations and societies, whereas now, “pure science finds support and encouragement in industry” (148).

In the final chapter, Bernays provides an account of the media through which “special pleaders” transmit their propaganda to the public, including all of the technology used by people on a daily basis. Bernays maintains that “there is no means of human communication that may not also be a means of deliberate propaganda” because propaganda is simply the act of establishing a “reciprocal understanding between an individual and a group” (150). The important point to the propagandist is that the various mechanisms of propaganda and the way it relates to the masses are constantly changing, and the propagandist must make use of these shifts when they occur.