How Propaganda Works

by Jason Stanley

Overview

How propaganda undermines democracy and why we need to pay attention

Our democracy today is fraught with political campaigns, lobbyists, liberal media, and Fox News commentators, all using language to influence the way we think and reason about public issues. Even so, many of us believe that propaganda and manipulation aren't problems for us—not in the way they were for the totalitarian societies of the mid-twentieth century. In How Propaganda Works, Jason Stanley demonstrates that more attention needs to be paid. He examines how propaganda operates subtly, how it undermines democracy—particularly the ideals of democratic deliberation and equality—and how it has damaged democracies of the past.

Focusing on the shortcomings of liberal democratic states, Stanley provides a historically grounded introduction to democratic political theory as a window into the misuse of democratic vocabulary for propaganda's selfish purposes. He lays out historical examples, such as the restructuring of the US public school system at the turn of the twentieth century, to explore how the language of democracy is sometimes used to mask an undemocratic reality. Drawing from a range of sources, including feminist theory, critical race theory, epistemology, formal semantics, educational theory, and social and cognitive psychology, he explains how the manipulative and hypocritical declaration of flawed beliefs and ideologies arises from and perpetuates inequalities in society, such as the racial injustices that commonly occur in the United States.

How Propaganda Works shows that an understanding of propaganda and its mechanisms is essential for the preservation and protection of liberal democracies everywhere.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691173429
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	12/06/2016
Pages:	376
Sales rank:	274,442
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Jason Stanley is the Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy at Yale University. He is the author of Knowledge and Practical Interests, Language in Context, and Know How.

Table of Contents

Preface IX

Introduction: The Problem of Propaganda 1

1 Propaganda in the History of Political Thought 27

2 Propaganda Defined 39

3 Propaganda in Liberal Democracy 81

4 Language as a Mechanism of Control 125

5 Ideology 178

6 Political Ideologies 223

7 The Ideology of Elites: A Case Study 269

Conclusion 292

Acknowledgments 295

Notes 305

Bibliography 335

Index 347

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Jason Stanley's How Propaganda Works is a novel and significant contribution that should revitalize political philosophy."—Noam Chomsky

"Filled with compelling examples, this book examines what propaganda is and what threat bad propaganda poses for democracy. The case it makes—which is conceptual, normative, historical, and empirical—is persuasive and provocative. Stanley is tackling an important topic that many philosophers ignore but shouldn't."—Tommie Shelby, author of We Who Are Dark

"This ambitious book brings Stanley's insights from epistemology and philosophy of language to bear on the self-masking role of propaganda in democracy. Generous use of concrete political applications enliven the book's arguments and drive home the topic's normative importance."—Rae Langton, University of Cambridge

Editorial Reviews

"Rich and thoughtful. . . . The best way to fight propaganda is to become savvier about how it manipulates, how it actually works, as Stanley does in his work."

Desmog Canada

"Brilliant and incisive."

Survival: Global Politics and Strategy

"A book uniquely suited to its time. . . . An example of political philosophy at its finest."

Voegelinview

"How Propaganda Works deserves huge praise and should be read by anyone who cares about politics and language. Its trove of tools and insights is impossible to completely summarise here."

The National

Winner of the 2016 PROSE Award in Philosophy, Association of American Publishers

From the Publisher

"[A] timely and important work that contributes a good deal of theoretical understanding to a crucial yet relatively neglected topic of inquiry."

Spinwatch

Although propaganda has usually been associated with totalitarian regimes like Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union…Jason Stanley…reminds us…that propaganda can also pose a grave danger to democracies. The subject couldn't be more relevant, given the profusion of fake news and misinformation on the web today; a public with a voracious appetite for scandal and entertainment, coupled with media outlets obsessed with ratings and clicks…How Propaganda Works…provides valuable insights into an important and timely subject.

The New York Times - Michiko Kakutani

2015-05-05
An academic analysis of the ways in which propaganda still functions and influences ideology in contemporary society. The concept of propaganda seems to be an anachronism. Or, as Stanley (Philosophy/Yale Univ.; Know How, 2011, etc.) puts it, propaganda is typically reserved for historical thinking about totalitarian and fascist regimes—e.g., the Nazis or Stalinist Russia. However, this thinking is dangerous precisely because it removes propaganda from a contemporary context, thereby allowing it to infiltrate discourse unnoticed. Moreover, the concept of propaganda functioning within a democratic society is especially tricky since the very idea of democracy is at odds with an environment that could allow propaganda. Stanley astutely identifies the conundrum of democracy and propaganda: "Democracy is a system of self-rule that is supposed to maximize liberty. Freedom of speech, especially public political speech, cannot be restricted in a democracy. But the unrestricted use of propaganda is a serious threat to democracy." The author's analysis of propaganda within a democratic political system is scholarly but vital, as he dismantles this erroneous preconception step by step, from Plato to the present day. His dissections of language and social structures expose the underpinnings of how propaganda continues to dictate individual consciousness and social policy. For instance, the author painstakingly defines the terms of his analysis, creating distinctions among "supporting propaganda," "undermining propaganda," and "demagoguery," to name a few. Ultimately, the damage of propaganda, as defined by Stanley, is that it creates public opinion that is "radically misaligned" with national policy, all for the political or financial gain of the minority exploiting the flawed ideology of democratic society, however sincerely or insincerely. Citing examples ranging from historical racism in America to Citizens United, Stanley's critique of propaganda and ideology will only prove more influential as public and political opinion is further polarized. Laymen beware, but curious and disciplined readers will find a useful examination of propaganda's pervasiveness.

Kirkus Reviews