By far the greater part of political “education” or propaganda is the work of the press. It is the press which primarily takes care of the “work of enlightenment” and acts as a sort of school for adults. This means the teaching materials are not in the hands of the state, but in the clutches of characters who are motivated by their own interests. As a young man, Vienna gave me the best opportunities to become intimately acquainted with the owners and manufacturers of this mass-education machine. At first, I was astonished to see how quickly this evil power succeeded in producing a particular opinion among the public, even though the meaning may be twisted or a flat-out false representation of public desire. A few days were enough to turn some ridiculous affair into a momentous act of state, while vital problems were generally forgotten or simply erased from the memory of the masses.
By far the greater part of political “education” or propaganda is the work of the press. It is the press which primarily takes care of the “work of enlightenment” and acts as a sort of school for adults. This means the teaching materials are not in the hands of the state, but in the clutches of characters who are motivated by their own interests. As a young man, Vienna gave me the best opportunities to become intimately acquainted with the owners and manufacturers of this mass-education machine. At first, I was astonished to see how quickly this evil power succeeded in producing a particular opinion among the public, even though the meaning may be twisted or a flat-out false representation of public desire. A few days were enough to turn some ridiculous affair into a momentous act of state, while vital problems were generally forgotten or simply erased from the memory of the masses.
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