Randal Marlin Quotes
We live in a time when complex ethical questions are easily subordinated to the demands of efficiency, profit maximization, and maintenance or furthering of political power.
Anyone familiar with the marvels of the Worldwide Web can hardly fail to see that we have entered a new era in communications on a scale perhaps comparable to the invention of the Gutenberg press.
Once we recognize the power of propaganda, we need to ask whether its exercise is consistent with those democratic ideals to which lip-service is commonly accorded.
There are many special interests skilful at manipulating circumstances and communications in such a way as to benefit their own ends and not necessarily the public good.
The best goal for propaganda analysis is to develop such an understanding of the phenomenon that it will no longer be profitable for people to engage in it.
There are many other ways in which language can be used to manipulate an audience. one obvious way is to simply lie.
In a general way, a major goal of the propagandist is to seek some kind of authoritative backing for the belief he or she is propagating.
Down to the present day the luminous image of democracy has often served as a pretext for the most undemocratic actions.
The specific media may change, but the principles of human nature have remained fairly constant over the millenia.
When we look for propaganda, we have the obvious job of asking what messages are being propagated.
Propaganda analysis can contribute to world peace by exposing those techniques that lead to armed conflict by creating misapprehension of reality.
Since the time of Plato and Aristotle philosophers have had an interest in taking note of common fallacies in reasoning.
There is arguably something wrong with a method of persuasion that cannot pass the test of publicity.
It is true that advertising often gives information and is valuable for doing so, but some forms of advertising give precious little information, and even that little is wrong.
