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Walter Lippmann | The process by which public opinions arise

in

"That the manufacture of consent is capable of great refinements no one, I think, denies. The process by which public opinions arise is certainly no less intricate than it has appeared in these pages, and the opportunities for manipulation open to anyone who understands the process are plain enough. . . . as a result of psychological research, coupled with the modern means of communication, the practice of democracy has turned a corner. A revolution is taking place, infinitely more significant than any shifting of economic power. . . . Under the impact of propaganda, not necessarily in the sinister meaning of the word alone, the old constants of our thinking have become variables. It is no longer possible, for example, to believe in the original dogma of democracy; that the knowledge needed for the management of human affairs comes up spontaneously from the human heart. Where we act on that theory we expose ourselves to self-deception, and to forms of persuasion that we cannot verify. It has been demonstrated that we cannot rely upon intuition, conscience, or the accidents of casual opinion if we are to deal with the world beyond our reach."

Walter Lippmann

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Jacques Ellul | propaganda refines its techniques.

in

"It is with knowledge of the human being, his tendencies, his desires, his needs, his psychic mechanisms, his automatisms as well as knowledge of social psychology and analytical psychology that propaganda refines its techniques."

Jacques Ellul

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Tony Cartalucci | Your Real Government

in

"These organizations represent the collective interests of the largest corporations on earth. They not only retain armies of policy wonks and researchers to articulate their agenda and form a consensus internally, but also use their massive accumulation of unwarranted influence in media, industry, and finance to manufacture a self-serving consensus internationally. To believe that this corporate-financier oligarchy would subject their agenda and fate to the whims of the voting masses is naive at best. They have painstakingly ensured that no matter who gets into office, in whatever country, the guns, the oil, the wealth and the power keep flowing perpetually into their own hands. [....] The real revolution will commence when we identify the above equation as the true brokers of power and when we begin systematically removing our dependence on them, and their influence on us from our daily lives. The global corporate-financier oligarchy needs us, we do not need them, independence from them is the key to our freedom."

Tony Cartalucci

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Jacques Ellul | It is the emergence of mass media which makes possible the use of propaganda techniques on a societal scale

in

"It is the emergence of mass media which makes possible the use of propaganda techniques on a societal scale. The orchestration of press, radio and television to create a continuous, lasting and total environment renders the influence of propaganda virtually unnoticed precisely because it creates a constant environment. Mass media provides the essential link between the individual and the demands of the technological society."

Jacques Ellul

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Prof. Rainer Mausfeld | the illusion of democracy

in

"But what could make democracy attractive to the powerful, whose very power it limits and threatens? The answer is quite simple: Nothing! For democracy means precisely to restrict the power needs of the powerful and the rich, in which they naturally have no interest. This now results in a tension between the needs of the rulers to stabilize their status and our need to feel socially autonomous and self-determined with regard to our social situation. In history, this fundamental tension has often been discharged in the form of revolutions. From the point of view of the rulers, how can this tension be defused if we want to avoid bloody revolutions?

The solution lies in 'satisfying' the citizens' need for freedom with a surrogate, with a substitute drug, namely the illusion of democracy. To create such an illusion of democracy, one needs above all - and this is where the herd metaphor comes into play again - an ideology of justification that justifies why the people are immature and in need of leadership. Furthermore, the idea of democracy, which is so attractive to the people, must be emptied of its meaning so that it is limited only to an electoral act. And finally, continuous democracy management is needed to ensure that the people want what they are supposed to want in the act of voting."

Prof. Rainer Mausfeld

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Nassim Nicholas Taleb | gap between journalists and the public

in

"The fact that there is a gap between journalists and the public is shown above all by the fact that the former are much more interested in the opinion of their colleagues than in the judgment of their readers. Compare this with a healthy system, for example that of restaurants. As we [...] have seen, restaurant owners care about the opinions of their diners, not those of other restaurant owners, which keeps restaurant owners doing what their job is; it prevents the industry as a whole from moving away from diners' interests. In addition, skin in the game creates diversity, and monoculture is prevented. Economic uncertainty exacerbates the situation. Journalists currently work in the most insecure profession imaginable: the majority live hand-to-mouth, and ostracism by colleagues would be fatal. This makes them easy victims for manipulative lobbyists, as has been seen in connection with genetically modified organisms (GMOs), the wars in Syria, and more. In this profession, if you say something unpopular about Brexit, GMOs, or Putin, you're toast. It's the exact opposite of professions where being a follower is punished."

Nassim Nicholas Taleb

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John Denver | As a self appointed messiah

in

"As a self appointed messiah, I view music as far more than just entertainment"

John Denver

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Phillip Chapman Lesh | devery place we played was church

in

"In those days we used to say that every place we played was church and that's what it was like. A pretty far out church but that's how we felt."

Phillip Chapman Lesh

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Gary Greenberg | The band was the high priest

in

"it was not just a concert. It was a place of worship. The band was the high priest, the songs the liturgy, the dancing the prayer, the audience the congregation. Out of these simple ingredients we created a tradition and enacted a ritual that was at once entirely familiar and thoroughly mysterious."

Gary Greenberg

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Hans Hermann Hoppe | Democracy is a soft variant of communism

in

"Democracy has nothing to do with freedom. Democracy is a soft variant of communism, and rarely in the history of ideas has it been taken for anything else."

Prof. Hans Hermann Hoppe

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Kwai Chang Caine | the prison is within you

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"If you trust me completely…I can help you. If I tell you you are not within a prison the prison is within you can you believe that?"

Kwai Chang Caine

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The Libertarian Pilot | rules of state power

in

"We were raised by people who dutifully follow the rules of state power. We were brought up to follow the rules & not question the state. But now malicious people make the rules. It's time to teach our children something different."

The Libertarian Pilot

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Judy Mowatt | It was a crusade, it was a mission

in

"It was a crusade, it was a mission. We were like sentinels, like lights. ON TOUR THE SHOWS WERE LIKE CHURCH; Bob delivering the sermon. There were mixed emotions in the audience: you see people literally crying, people in a frenzy, on A SPIRITUAL HIGH ... These concerts were powerful and highly spiritual. There was a power that pulled you there. It was a clean feeling ... For months and maybe years it stays with you"

Judy Mowatt

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Joost A.M. Meerloo | democratic or totalitarian

in

"In my own experience, I have been amazed to see how unrealistic are the bases for political opinion in general. Only rarely have I found a person who has chosen any particular political party - democratic or totalitarian - through study and comparison of principles."

Joost A.M. Meerloo

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Carl Gustav Jung | confrontation with the world of darkness

in

"Filling the conscious mind with ideal conceptions is a characteristic of Western theosophy, but not the confrontation with the shadow and the world of darkness. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious. The later procedure, however, is disagreeable and therefore not popular."

Carl Gustav Jung

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Dr. Daniel und Bernadette Skubik | A driving drum rhythm in excess

in ,

"A driving drum rhythm in excess of three to four beats per second will put the brain into a state of stress, regardless if the listener likes or dislikes the music. And when the brain is in this stressful state, it will release opioids—a group of natural hormones that function like morphine—to help return itself to normal equilibrium and sense of well-being. These natural opioids, if experienced often enough, can be addicting, creating in the listener the continual desire for that ‘high’ somewhat like the high runners experience."

Dr. Daniel und Bernadette Skubik

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Bertolt Brecht | And they were sawing off the branches

in

"And they were sawing off the branches on which they were sitting. While shouting across their experiences to one another on how to saw more efficiently. And they went crashing down into the deep. And those who watched them shook their heads and continued sawing vigorously"

Bertolt Brecht

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John Adams | Fear is the foundation of most governments

in

"Fear is the foundation of most governments; but it is so sordid and brutal a passion, and renders men in whose breasts it predominates so stupid and miserable, that Americans will not be likely to approve of any political institution which is founded on it."

John Adams

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Hans-Hermann Hoppe | What is true, just, and beautiful

in

"What is true, just, and beautiful is not determined by popular vote. The masses everywhere are ignorant, short-sighted, motivated by envy, and easy to fool. Democratic politicians must appeal to these masses in order to be elected. Whoever is the best demagogue will win. Almost by necessity, then, democracy will lead to the perversion of truth, justice and beauty."

Hans-Hermann Hoppe

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Steven Spielberg | Film is the most powerful weapon in the world

in

"Film is the most powerful weapon in the world. Filmmakers have the responsibility not just to entertain, but to be responsible, to inform"

Steven Spielberg

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Aristotle | Music directly represents the passions of the soul

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"Music directly represents the passions of the soul. If one listens to the wrong kind of music, he will become the wrong kind of person."

Aristotle

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Albert Einstein | Education is what remains after

in

"Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school."

Albert Einstein

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Plato | Strange times are these in which we live

in

"Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught falsehoods in school. And the person that dares to tell the truth is called at once a lunatic and fool"

Plato

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Plato | Through foolishness they deceived themselves

in

"Through foolishness they deceived themselves into thinking that there was no right or wrong way in music, that it was to be judged good or bad by the pleasure it gave. By their works and their theories they infected the masses with the presumption to think themselves adequate judges. So our theatres, once silent, grew vocal, and aristocracy of music gave way to a pernicious theatrocracy...the criterion was not music, but a reputation for promiscuous cleverness and a spirit of law-breaking."

Plato

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Andrew Oldham | Rock music is sex

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"Rock music is sex and you have to hit them [teenagers] in the face with it"

Andrew Oldham

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