Ingrid Thorpe Designs - Propaganda

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Prop·a·gan·da

"The systematic propagation of a doctrine or cause or of information reflecting the views and interests of those advocating such a doctrine or cause."

Have you ever bought something that you wish you hadn't solely because of an influential sales person or advertisement? If you did, it’s probably because someone studied the tactics of propaganda and used them to convince you to buy. The same ideas are used in politics to get us to vote for candidates or against them, to vote for propositions or against them and to ignore or pay attention to what particular governments are up to. If you are someone who resists the corporatization of the world and fights manipulation wherever you see it, you need to know your enemy and his/her tactics. Those tactics involve the use of words to influence people.

Words are powerful. We use the word "propaganda" to describe information campaigns that we don’t like but might use the words "public information" to describe the same type of campaigns that we do like. Propaganda has a negative connotation and public information has a positive one, or at least a neutral implication. The way words are assembled can have very different effects and, since World War II, those effects have been meticulously studied as part of the science of social psychology.

Advertisers, sales people, organizations and governments use words that trigger our susceptibilities. People tend to have a conflicting dynamic in their personalities where they want to be seen as unique and special and at the same time they want to feel like they belong. This leaves us open to ad campaigns that tell us to "be a rebel", "think different", etc. by buying their products along with thousands of other special and unique people just like us.

It’s important to know how words are used to influence you if you want to regain some control over your ability to resist, but not all use of words is necessarily manipulative. You can use these same techniques ethically to increase the chances that your message will be heard. Many non-profit organizations use these techniques for fund raising and the funds raised can go to very good causes.

The key is to educate people, not manipulate and alienate them. You can use these techniques to best present your case rather than misrepresent it. The techniques of persuasion are powerful and, in order to fight the good fight, we need to understand when they are being used against us, and to know how to use them ethically to fight manipulation by others.

An example of world war II propaganda

An example of world war II propaganda

To protect yourself against the techniques of propaganda, three good questions to ask yourself are: Who does this benefit? Why did they do that? According to whom?
"Whenever you are in doubt, apply the following test: recall the face of the poorest and weakest person you may have seen and ask yourself if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to them." - Mahatma Gandhi
Perhaps the biggest form of propaganda spread is that as individuals we are powerless and that we can't make a difference - It's a common saying, it's always been like this or what can I do? I myself often feel overwhelmed by the amount of injustice that exists in our world. Like many others I've found it easy to say nothing, keep my head down and just wait for my next pay check. But I wasn't happy and my unhappiness affected the quality of all my personal relationships. Walking away from my job and my old attitudes was perhaps one of the hardest things I've done because for me it meant walking away from the things that I had allowed to define my life - wealth and career. But the sense of empowerment I feel now makes it clear to me that change is possible and can be a fantastic, powerful force. There are heaps of small things you can do every day to create a general sea change in attitudes of those around you. It's a bit like dropping a rock into a pool of water. The ripples radiate out faster at the centre and take the longest time to reach the pool's edge, but they do make it. Imagine if two or more people are dropping rocks - more ripples, more impact, more power. Here are a few ideas for empowering yourself and others: (Source: Take it personally -Anita Roddick) 1. Spread the word. Talk to you friends and colleagues about important issues that are facing all of us and communicate certain key messages - eg" we have lost our ethical footing". And you don't have to have the answers - just raise the questions and get people thinking. 2. Campaign Support one of the many campaigns that seek to highlight global issues - inequality, world hunger, environmental and civil rights abuse. 3. Change your lifestyle Measure you and your families ecological footprint and work to reduce it to a sustainable level. Focus on the action that makes the big differences (like cycling more instead of driving) instead of the small improvements (like recycling). 4. Make ethical consumer choices When you consume, make positive choices. Go organic. Buy fair trade. Eat less meat. Avoid multinationals. Support local businesses. Frequent your local farmers market.
5. Be a pro-active employee Raise responsible business practice with your employer - there are now a lot of good practice examples of progressive corporate behaviour, eg socially responsible sourcing, environmental auditing, ethical investment etc. There is also a hard-core version of this message which says "don't work for corporate power at all." This is a hard one I know as the lure of money is often hard to ignore when facing the financial responsibilities of raising a family. As with everything balance is the key. 6. Lobby Raise global justice issues with all decision makers. Write a letter, an email, sign a petition. It does make a difference. 7. Invest ethically Make sure your money isn't working against justice. Bank and invest ethically and check that ethical really means ethical. 8. Above all, connect to other people It is very difficult to learn or act effectively on your own. Join other groups of people who share your concerns. It's easy to feel alone in a sea of faceless people. Reach out, push beyond your comfort zones and really try and connect with other people. They have stories that are just as rich and varied as your own.