"WHAT is truly vicious," observed The New York Times in an editorial,
September 1, 1937, "is not propaganda but a monopoly of it."
From Modern English Readings — Title page
http://www.maebrussell.com/Articles%20and%20Notes/German%20Propaganda.htmlPROPAGANDA TECHNIQUES OF
GERMAN FASCISM(1)
Anonymous
"WHAT is truly vicious," observed The New York Times in an editorial, September 1, 1937, "is not propaganda but a monopoly of it." This monopoly is seen most clearly in totalitarian states where all channels of communication are controlled by the government.
{government, disguised as corporate media} The extent to which the propaganda machinery of a country has been brought under the control of one organization or a group of related organizations is a useful measure of the degree to which absolutism dominates it, of the extent to which democracy has been eliminated. In democratic countries this monopoly aspect of propaganda is held in check by rivalries between competing organizations.
{right wing fundamentalists, fetus worshipers, gun nuts, gay-haters}Political, economic, educational, and religious spokesmen are able to and actually do disseminate rival propagandas. This gives those at whom the rival propagandas are directed some freedom of choice among the alternatives offered them. The ability of individuals and organizations in democracies to enter their special viewpoints into the rivalry of propagandas is restricted chiefly by economic considerations.(2) In buying radio time and newspaper space, in the outright purchase of radio stations and newspapers, in securing the expert services of professional propagandists and public relations counselors, individuals and groups with large financial resources have an advantage over those with small resources. Producers of goods, for instance, have greater propaganda power than either consumers or labor.(3)
The power of propaganda increases as its control becomes more centralized, as the trend to monopoly increases. In democratic countries this takes place when competing propagandists resolve their differences and agree upon one propaganda. This maneuver can be seen in amalgamations or agreements within political, economic, educational, and religious groups. As various groups come to collaborate in terms of common interests, their propaganda programs tend to coincide and to increase in power. This process is stimulated by the centralization of the control of the economic structure of a country. A tendency toward a monopoly of wealth is accompanied by a corresponding tendency toward a monopoly of propaganda.
To understand how this monopoly of propaganda was effected, it is necessary to review the conditions under which German Fascism was established.
In Germany, as elsewhere, Fascism is the outcome of economic and political instability. It is an undemocratic means for dealing with the mass unemployment of city workers,
the economic distress of the middle classes, the impoverishment of farmers, and the efforts of these groups for economic reforms. So long as democratic realities continue to exist, with freedom of speech, press, and assembly, such efforts for reform can obtain a public hearing, and various programs to relieve and prevent distress stand a chance of enactment into law. Thus, representative democracy provides a means for reconciling conflicts through the expression of opinions and propagandas for different solutions, from which an enlightened public can make its choice. In Germany this means of mitigating the abuses of the economic system was feared by influential politicians, industrialists, financiers, and great landowners. After the worldwide depression of the late 1920's these individuals and groups felt that they could maintain their status only through the abolition of representative democratic government. Their opportunity came in Adolf Hitler, master propagandist.
Sometimes a demagogue is sincere in his propaganda; usually he is confused. Typically, a demagogic clique is corrupt in whole or in part. The corrupt elements are usually successful in proportion to their astuteness and unscrupulousness. They will agitate for a fee; they will exact for their services all that the traffic will bear; they will serve or pretend to serve many interests. The extent to which Hitler and his Nazi clique were sincere, astute, or unscrupulous may never be fully known. At the critical moment the NSDAP did receive the secret financial backing of a small group of Germans who wanted a government which would abolish freedom of speech, press, and assembly; which would eliminate labor unions; and which would deal effectively with expressed opposition. Such a government was established in Germany in 1933 under the leadership of Adolf Hitler.(6)
The middle class, one of the most politically important sections of the population, had been neglected.
Capitalism was all they knew and all they wanted. But once in power, political control dominated economic control. "Capitalism," as free enterprise, became a Glittering Generality.
much more follows
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