I started reading “How Propaganda Works” by Jason Stanley this past weekend. Though it was originally published in 2015 (before Trump’s first term) it feels more relevant than ever. As I read the book I’ll be sharing thoughts along the way. This quote from the introduction seems to setup Stanley’s goal well:
My goal in this book is to explain how sincere, well-meaning people, under the grips of flawed ideology, can unknowingly produce and consume propaganda.
Speaking more specifically about the relationship between inequality, flawed ideology, & propaganda, Stanley says the following:
When societies are unjust, for example, in the distribution of wealth, we can expect the emergence of flawed ideologies. The flawed ideologies allow for effective propaganda. In a society that is unjust, due to unjust distinctions between persons, ways of rationalizing undeserved privilege become ossified into rigid and unchangeable belief. These beliefs are the barriers to rational thought and empathy that propaganda exploits.
In a nutshell this looks something like:
Inequality ➡️ flawed ideology ➡️ propaganda that further cuts off paths for rational discourse.
In the USA we’ve had inequality built into the system from the very beginning, and that has led to some deeply entrenched flawed ideologies.
A lot of the propaganda that we see in 2024 in the US is created and shared by people who sincerely believe the flawed ideology behind it. Add to that a fear that says “if we get this wrong we will suffer for eternity in hell” and it can be incredibly hard to diffuse.