About the Author:
Noam Chomsky is a renowned linguist, philosopher, and political activist. He is one of the most influential figures in the field of linguistics, for developing the theory of generative grammar. Chomsky is also a vocal critic of US foreign policy and an advocate of social justice. He wrote many books and articles, among which Syntactic Structures (1957), Manufacturing Consent (1988), and Hegemony or Survival (2003).
Propaganda’s Role
Noam Chomsky delves into the significant role media plays in shaping politics and democracy. He contrasts two views of democracy: the ideal, where the public actively participates to open and unbiased information, and the prevailing one, where elites control information and decision-making. Chomsky highlights historical instances like World War I, where U.S. government propaganda transformed a pacifist population into fervent war supporters, demonstrating the power of media manipulation.
Intellectual Elites Managing Society
Chomsky highlights the influence of intellectual elites in manipulating public opinion, drawing parallels with Leninist ideas. Figures like Walter Lippmann and the Dewey circle intellectuals believed in “manufacturing consent” to align the public with decisions they might otherwise oppose. This suggests that a small, enlightened elite should guide the ignorant masses toward the common good, as they don’t have the ability to help themselves. Lippmann argued that a specialized class should manage society while the general public remains passive spectators. This leads to the controlling of public perception and the suppressing of real democracy.
The Mechanics of Propaganda
Propaganda in democratic societies serves a role similar to coercion in totalitarian states by ensuring that the masses remain passive and distracted, allowing a narrow group of elites to maintain control and serve the interests of private power. Chomsky explains how the public relations industry, which grew significantly during World War I, was designed to ensure public subordination to business interests. He provides examples like the “Mohawk Valley formula,” used by business leaders to turn public opinion against striking workers. This strategy proved effective, as it played on the inherent biases and fears of the public, aligning their sentiments with those of business interests. The use of propaganda to break strikes and stifle labor rights demonstrates the lengths to which the elite would go to maintain their dominance.
Foreign Interventions and Public Relations
Chomsky examines how public relations tactics have been used to justify foreign interventions. He details the 1954 Guatemalan coup, where the United Fruit Company ran a successful campaign to justify the U.S. overthrow of a democratic government. By creating misleading narratives and instilling fear, the campaign manipulated public perception to support U.S. actions abroad while marginalizing domestic opposition. The so-called “Vietnam Syndrome” exemplified public reluctance towards military action, which the elite aimed to overcome by fostering respect for martial values and revising historical events to fit their agendas. This manipulation of history and public sentiment was crucial in maintaining support for the elite's foreign and domestic policies.
Shaping Public Consciousness
Chomsky argues that the public relations industry effectively shapes public consciousness to align with elite interests, achieving control not through overt force but through sophisticated manipulation of information and values, which marginalized meaningful democratic participation. He points out how the media often portrays world events with little resemblance to reality, to support elite agendas, ensuring the public remains distracted and unable to organize effectively against their control. Chomsky's critique underscores the need for greater awareness and resistance to these manipulative practices to reclaim genuine democratic participation.
The Flourishing of Dissident Culture
Despite efforts to control public opinion, dissident culture has flourished since the 1960s, particularly against the Vietnam War, with significant protest emerging years after the U.S. began bombing South Vietnam. Chomsky highlights the emerging movements which witnessed further expansion like environmentalism, feminism, and anti-nuclear activism. These movements were unique and significant because they didn't just protest from a distance but deeply involved themselves in the lives of suffering people worldwide, which have broadened public understanding and empathy. These movements challenge the status quo and foster public skepticism towards power and propaganda. For example, the feminist movement has significantly influenced public attitudes towards military force, with women showing more restraint and skepticism compared to the past, when it comes to using force.
The Future and Parade of Enemies
Chomsky warns that to distract from domestic issues, elites will continue creating external enemies. He provides historical examples, such as Hitler demonizing Jews and Gypsies, and the U.S. fabricating threats like international terrorists, narcotraffickers, crazed Arabs, and dictators like Saddam Hussein. Each new threat served to terrify the population, keeping them compliant and distracted from domestic issues. Chomsky suggests that Cuba could be the next target in this cycle of creating and destroying enemies to maintain control. This strategy involves illegal economic warfare and possibly a revival of international terrorism, similar to past operations against Cuba and Nicaragua.
Selective Perception and Media Bias
The media's selective coverage of human rights violations reveals its role in manufacturing consent. Chomsky contrasts the extensive coverage of Armando Valladares' memoirs about torture in Cuba with the silence on Herbert Anaya's torture in El Salvador. This selective perception ensures that certain narratives dominate while others are suppressed, maintaining the illusion of a benevolent foreign policy. Similar bias is seen in the lack of coverage of Israel's occupation of Lebanon despite Israel’s violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 425. Not to mention Indonesia's invasion of East Timor which resulted in approximately 200,000 deaths, also received minimal attention despite substantial U.S. support for the aggression. The media's selective coverage reveals a skillful system at manufacturing consent, highlighting atrocities that serve its narrative while silencing those that do not.
The Gulf War as Propaganda
The Gulf War exemplifies how propaganda shapes public perception. Chomsky explains how the U.S. framed its military action against Iraq and Kuwait as a principled stand against aggression, ignoring similar U.S. actions. He points out the media's failure to inform the public about Iraq's withdrawal offers and the effectiveness of sanctions, contributing to a perception that military action was the only solution. This manipulation led to a collective acceptance of narratives that serve the interests of those in power.
During the war's coverage, significant voices were conspicuously absent, particularly the Iraqi democratic opposition, a courageous group primarily composed of educated professionals living in exile. However, the U.S. government ignored their pleas for support while they were allied with Saddam Hussein. After the invasion of Kuwait, the U.S. turned against Saddam, yet the media failed to include the perspectives of the Iraqi opposition, who were against both Saddam and the war, highlighting a systemic exclusion of dissenting voices.
Additionally, the stated reasons for war were not sincerely upheld by the U.S., yet these contradictions went largely unchallenged in the media. As the war commenced, public opinion polls indicated significant support for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict over military action. However, the media failed to inform the public that Iraq had already proposed a withdrawal from Kuwait in exchange for addressing the Arab-Israeli conflict—a proposal ignored by the U.S. government. This lack of information contributed to a perception among the public that they were isolated in their views.
The portrayal of Saddam Hussein as a monstrous threat poised to conquer the world further exemplifies propaganda at work. Despite Iraq's lack of industrial capacity and support during the Iran-Iraq War, the narrative painted it as a powerful aggressor. This exaggeration mirrors the earlier demonization of figures like Manuel Noriega, who, while a minor player compared to other U.S. allies, was also portrayed as an imminent danger requiring military intervention.
Chomsky concludes that the choice between living in a genuinely free society or succumbing to a form of self-imposed totalitarianism rests on the ability of individuals to question the information presented to them and demand accountability.
