Edward Bernays

Edward Bernays

Edward Louis Bernays (November 22, 1891 - March 9, 1995) was a journalist, the nephew of Sigmund Freud, a progressive, and an early innovator in modern techniques of propaganda and social psychology. He is widely regarded as the 'Father of Public Relations'.

Bernays was a member of the Committee on Public Information.

In 1990, Life Magazine named Bernays in its list of 100 most influential Americans of the 20th century.

Early life

Edward Bernays was born on November 22, 1891, in Vienna, Austria, to Eli Bernays and Anna Freud Bernays. His family emigrated to America when Edward was still an infant.

Anna Freud was the sister of Sigmund Freud.

Members of the Committee on Public Information, Edward Bernays is second from the right.(Man with mustache)

In 1922, he married Doris Fleischman, and they had two daughters: Anne Bernays and Doris Bernays Held.

Propaganda campaigns

Edward Bernays was a master propagandist. Among Bernays more well known campaigns are the following:

• Working for the Beech-Nut corporation, Bernays helped to position bacon and eggs as the true all-American breakfast.
• "Light’s Golden Jubilee", a celebration of the invention of the lightbulb.
• "Torches of Freedom", Bernays set up an elaborate display of debutantes sparking up their cigarettes, meanwhile he made sure to contact members of the press to capture the moment.
• Campaign for the NAACP, hosted first convention in Atlanta, Georgia in 1920.

The Century of the Self

In 2002, the BBC developed a four-part series about Bernays titled The Century of the Self, which details some of Bernays' methods and some background in psychoanalysis.

Views

Anne Bernays, Edward's daughter, described his viewpoint this way:

• "Democracy to my father was a wonderful concept, but I don't think he felt that all those publics out there had reliable judgment, and that they very easily might vote for the wrong man or want the wrong thing; so that they had to be guided from above. It's enlightened despotism in a sense."

She also recalled his frequent use of the word "stupid":

• "The people who worked for him were stupid, the children were stupid, and if people did things in a way that he wouldn't have done them, they were stupid. It was a word that he used over and over: "don't be stupid". And the masses? - They were stupid."

Quotes

The following quotes are taken from Bernays' book, Propaganda:

• “The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. ...We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society. ...In almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons...who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind."
• "“There are invisible rulers who control the destinies of millions. It is not generally realized to what extent the words and actions of our most influential public men are dictated by shrewd persons operating behind the scenes."

External links

• Annotated captions of The Century of the Self in English, Part 1