Why Propaganda is So Successful

“The point is you have to work. And that’s why the propaganda system is so successful. Very few people are going to have the time, or the energy, or the commitment, to carry out the constant battle that’s required, to get outside of MacNeil/Lehrer, or Dan Rather, or somebody like that. The easy thing to do [is] come home from work, you’re tired, just had a busy day, you’re not gonna spend the evening carrying on a research project, so you turn on the tube, say it’s probably right, look at the headlines of the paper, then you watch sports or something. That’s basically how the system of indoctrination works. Sure the other stuff is there but you’re gonna have to work to find it.”

-Noam Chomsky — Manufacturing Consent (1992) 2:39:15

What if people didn’t have to work?

Chomsky understands the propaganda system is successful because, quite simply, people are too busy to question whether the news headlines are truthful or not.

However, in a society where wage slavery is eliminated, that wouldn’t be a problem. Masses of people would actually have the time and energy to investigate what their government and corporate media are telling them.

Sounds like another great reason for Universal Basic Income to me.

Matt Orfalea makes videos on Youtube. You can also follow him here on Medium, Twitter, and Facebook. If you feel others would appreciate this post, please click the green heart below so more people see it.