Media Manufacturing Consent
Yesterday we talked about implied consent through inaction. For our Monday/Wisdom explorations, I’d like to submit to you a related idea about the role of mass media in a modern profit-driven society. In the 1988 book Manufacturing Consent by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky, the authors make the claim that much mass media actually serves a propaganda machine for our government and the elite of our society. “Propaganda” means the media basically delivers an “official story” that the powerful want published to convince the people to go along. Part of what’s really notable about their work is that Herman did tons of financial research to show that movements of money back up these claims. In other words, they “followed the money”.
This is particularly concerning since the media is supposed to be The Fourth Estate. In the old European way of looking at society, the were three main centers or “estates” of power in a country: the nobility, the clergy, and the commoners. These three are supposed to balance each other, but since historically (from a certain viewpoint) the nobility and the clergy typically untied against the commoners, the fourth estate of the press is necessary to produce balance. Think about our own society: If it wasn’t for news companies reporting on what’s going on, would we, the common people, even know what politicians are doing with the power we give them?
So if the news is working for “the man” instead of balancing the elite’s power, this could be a big problem. That’s why the idea that mass media is really a propaganda machine is pretty concerning.
Now, we have to be careful here because in most political systems anything the press says that disagrees with “us” is often called “propaganda” while anything that agrees with us is called “truth” and “honest and unbiased reporting”. There’s something fundamental of human nature in that.
Here’s what I suggest: Let’s watch the 1993 documentary Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media based loosely on the book. (Another option would be 2022’s Propaganda: The Manufacture of Consent, FREE for Prime.) Let’s reflect on what he’s saying and think about how our exposure propaganda in mass media and social media may influence our explicit and implied consent (through inaction). Post your reactions in the comments section below.
The manufacturing of consent is a very real thing, it’s apparent as early as World War One. It starts with the propaganda used to convince the people that they wanted the war continues from there. It’s a form of psychological warfare, they attack your emotions, and your desires, and exploit them for their own gains. But this does not make it inherently evil, it simply means that it has the capacity to do a lot of damage. For example, during FDR’s term, he used Public Relations/The manufacturing of consent to try and make the USA less of a corporate playground. But he failed because of the corporation’s counter-campaign. So is the manufacturing of consent bad? Not necessarily, sometimes it’s what’s needed to get something good off the ground. The manufacturing of consent works by appealing to our dreams and amplifying our fears then offering us a way out, there are almost no viable solutions to fight it as we are not logical creatures by nature. My father is a missionary and he has asked himself this question, “Is it okay to use this method?” And my personal answer is “Yes.” But only when necessary, don’t be a control freak, be a guide, and set boundaries and lines so that you don’t go too far. Our world isn’t perfect and neither are we but all we can do is fight back, so look out for those that would manipulate you for their own gain.