Re: Johnstone's latest: 'Propaganda is the root of all our problems' Archived Message
Posted by dovetailjoint on June 13, 2019, 10:17 am, in reply to "Johnstone's latest: 'Propaganda is the root of all our problems'"
The problems Johnstone focuses on in relation to democracy, have been around for a very long time. In fact, for over two thousand years and were recognised by the ancient Athenians when they first introduced democratic forms of 'experimental' government. It didn't really work, because the 'demos' the common people were too easily swayed by narratives or propaganda, that undermined their faith in their elected leaders and their policies. Far from being a mere transitory problem with democracy, this, seemingly built-in, structural set of problems, lies at the heart of democracy. The instability of the majority and how easy it was for powerful actors, forces, to manipulate it and steer it in a direciong that undermined democratic rule itself. This is why, given the character of the 'demos' the mass of the people, which is far too easily swayed by emotional narratives, one needed to employ methods and structures that put breaks on democracy itself, because the volatility of democracy was dangerous for social stability and could easily lead to horrors being unleashed, as happened in Athens and has plagued other democratic experiment too, like the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror.
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