And even if the propaganda is accompanied by actions which seek to carry out American foreign policy with good intentions as in the case of giving countries foreign aid or humanitarian aid, the recipients of the aid are often governments who suppress the economic and social development of their people, as Morgenthau argued. Therefore, aid and intervention often produce results and outcomes which stand in contrast to the intentions behind foreign aid and intervention. Edward Bernays defined propaganda as “a consistent, enduring effort to create or shape events to influence the relations of the public to an enterprise, idea, or group.”
In a sense, we are seeking to change minds and shape circumstances amidst rigid biases and stereotypes through propaganda. It is necessary to seek to shape world public opinion through a propaganda campaign, whether the campaign is being waged by an individual or group. Also, the targets of the propaganda can be strategic and optimized. The propaganda does not have to target or appeal to all and sundry. Bernays likened “New Propaganda” to touching a specific nerve and getting a response from the whole of the organism. Aside from content, it is about style as well. “New Propaganda” has a certain style associated with it, which then catches on and spreads. It is more important for “the intelligent minorities” or the “intelligent few” to employ propaganda than anyone else. By “proselytizing” certain “selfish interests” which coincide with “public interests” as Bernays characterized it, these intelligent minorities are in a sense spurring the “progress and development of America.”
Adam A. Azim 