WIST Quotations

Hoffer, Eric -- Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 260 (1955)

Dave — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 12:34:18 +0000

Propaganda does not deceive people; it merely helps them to deceive themselves.

Eric Hoffer (1902–1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 260 (1955)
(Source)

Hoffer, Eric -- True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 3, ch. 14, § 83 (3.14.83) (1951)

Dave — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 13:27:55 +0000

The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new; nor can it keep people persuaded once they have ceased to believe. It penetrates only into minds already open, and rather than instill opinion it articulates and justifies opinions already present in the minds of its recipients. The gifted propagandist brings to a boil ideas and passions already simmering in the minds of his hearers. he echoes their innermost feelings. Where opinion is not coerced, people can be made to believe only in what they already “know.”

Eric Hoffer (1902–1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 3, ch. 14, § 83 (3.14.83) (1951)
(Source)

Wills, Garry -- The Kennedy Imprisonment: A Meditation on Power, ch. 18 (1981)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

This is always the danger with propaganda, that it becomes at last more credible to its disseminators than to its targets.

Garry Wills (b. 1934) American author, journalist, historian
The Kennedy Imprisonment: A Meditation on Power, ch. 18 (1981)
(Source)

Referring to US government efforts in the early 60s to paint Castro's regime in Cuba as weak, eventually leading to the US government itself thinking the regime could be easily toppled.