COMS 361 - Lecture 6, Government Action Plans

Government Action Plans

An Important Quote

Ellul writes the following in a section entitled ‘The State’s Necessity’ (for propaganda): “...government propaganda suggests that public opinion demand this or that decision; it provokes the will of a people who spontaneously would say nothing. But, once evoked, formed and crystallized on a point, that will become the people’s will and whereas the government really acts on its own, it gives the impression of obeying public opinion – after having first built that public opinion. The point is to make the masses demand of the government what the government has already decided to do. If it follows this procedure, the government can no longer be called authoritarian, because the will of the people demands what is being done” (Jacques Ellul, Propaganda: The Formation of Men’s Attitudes, p.132, 1965)

An Example

In an effort to engage its citizens, any government has to tell people that it is doing what they want. These two images exemplify this need on the part of a government. Here we have two billboards informing the citizens of the area where this project is taking place that they can see evidence of their taxes at work and that they are benefitting from the government’s decision - a decision that constituents publicly claimed was needed in the first place. It is true that public monies were dedicated to the project, but the larger issue is that the government intervention becomes “personal,” an “in my neighborhood” type of message.