Aldous Huxley's 1962 speech predicted our current scientific dictatorship
- Thread starter redrumloa
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Huxley wrote Brave New World in 1931. Edward Bernays wrote Propaganda in 1928. Huxley's book was a warning. Bernays' book was an instruction manual.
Bernays invented the term "Public Relations" because propaganda was a word that had picked up negative connotations. Bernays believed that it was important to control the public mind for the good of "society", and society, was a word oft used among the upper crust to refer to themselves.
Bernays invented the term "Public Relations" because propaganda was a word that had picked up negative connotations. Bernays believed that it was important to control the public mind for the good of "society", and society, was a word oft used among the upper crust to refer to themselves.
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Huxley talks about the control of people by terrorism, by which he means simply force - all wars of conquest are terrorism. All overthrows of regimes involves terrorism. The people must be made more afraid to follow their leader than they are not to.
And, conversely, for the leader the balance must be the reverse. The people must be afraid to break the laws of their society, but they must be made afraid to be without the leader - perhaps because the leader is holding other terrorists at bay.
The idea of using the threat of terrorism from non-state actors as a means of control reminds me of this.
And, conversely, for the leader the balance must be the reverse. The people must be afraid to break the laws of their society, but they must be made afraid to be without the leader - perhaps because the leader is holding other terrorists at bay.
The idea of using the threat of terrorism from non-state actors as a means of control reminds me of this.
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the etc
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And the Q&A
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Huxley mentions that humans are not a domesticated species and points to Darwin for bringing this up. I initially was surprised by this because I had long considered humans to be self domesticated though I had also realized that this domestication took various effect through the different levels of society - though I had not often considered to take this idea all the way to the top (though it fits with things I've said) and that is that the people on the top of the pile are NOT domesticated, but wild - they have no force to tame them but that which they can immediately apply against each other - to that extent they are outside of the system of laws which they make for us to follow.