Comparing Thoughts

Edward Bernays' first and last quote suggests that he believes it is human nature to solely live based on knowledge that may not be directly gained through the individual themselves. Bernays argues, “In practice, if all men had to study for themselves the abstruse economic, political, and ethical data involved in every question, they would find it impossible to come to a conclusion about anything.” His thoughts on this are somewhat similar to Lippman’s beliefs. Lippman stated that “we shall assume that what each man does is based not on direct and certain knowledge but on pictures made by him or given to him.” Both Bernays' and Lippman’s words exemplify how it is human nature for people to mold their characters off of experiences with others and things that they are exposed to.
But they also have dissimilar beliefs. Looking at his second quote, Bernays believes that propaganda is essential to order in society. Lippman believes that it is almost impossible for propaganda to exist. He stated that, “Without some form of censorship, propaganda in the strict sense of the world is impossible. In order to conduct propaganda there must be some barrier between the public and the event.” Lippmann also implied that propaganda creates confusion when he asked, “What is propaganda, if not the effort to alter the picture to which men respond, to substitute one social pattern for another?” Bernay and Lippman represent two extremely different arguments on the subject of propaganda.