SECOND EDITION
Propaganda
and the
Ethics of Persuasion
Randal Marlin
Propaganda and the Ethics of Persuasion
second edition
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Second Edition
Propaganda
and the
Ethics of Persuasion
Randal Marlin
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Second Edition
Propaganda
and the
Ethics of Persuasion
Randal Marlin
broadview press
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© 2013 Randal Marlin
All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system, without prior written consent of the publisher—or in the case of photocopying, a licence from Access Copyright (Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency), One Yonge Street, Suite 1900, Toronto, Ontario M5E 1E5—is an infringement of the copyright law.
library and archives canada cataloguing in publication
Marlin, Randal, 1938- author, writer of preface
Propaganda and the ethics of persuasion / Randal Marlin.—Second edition.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-55481-091-8 (pbk.)
1. Propaganda. 2. Persuasion (Psychology). 3. Propaganda—Canada. I. Title.
3. Business ethics. I. Title. II. Series: Broadview guides to business and professional ethics HM1231.M37 2013 303.3’75 C2013-905670-X
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To my wife Elaine, for so much help
in so many ways, over so many years
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Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Preface to the First Edition xi
Preface to the Second Edition xv
CHAPTER 1: Why Study Propaganda? 1
Introduction 1
Definition 4
Two Major Propaganda Theorists: George Orwell and Jacques El ul 14
Plan of the Book 30
CHAPTER 2: History of Propaganda 35
Introduction 35
Athens 36
Rome 43
The Early Christian Era 45
From the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment 46
The French Revolution and Its Aftermath 48
Later Nineteenth-Century Developments 53
British Propaganda in World War I 55
Leninist Propaganda 71
Nazi Propaganda 75
World War II to the Present Day, In Brief 83
Conclusion 84
CHAPTER 3: Propaganda Technique: An Analysis 91
Introduction 91
Overview 92
Devices Involving Language Manipulation 99
Non-Verbal Techniques 118
Conclusion 135
vii
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CHAPTER 4: Ethics and Propaganda 139
Introduction: What Is Ethics? 139
Ethical Theories 140
The Morality of Lying 144
Misleading without Actually Lying 164
The Ethics of Communication 166
On the Ethics of Propaganda 172
Conclusion: Propaganda and Autonomy 178
CHAPTER 5: Advertising and Public Relations Ethics 183
Introduction 183
Advertising 183
Public Relations Ethics 195
Conclusion 212
CHAPTER 6: Freedom of Expression: Some Classical Arguments 217
Introduction 217
John Milton 219
John Stuart Mill 222
Modern Communications Media: A Free and Open Encounter? 236
Additional Free Speech Arguments 238
Conclusion 244
CHAPTER 7: The Question of Controls 247
Introduction 247
Controls on Hate Propaganda 247
Advertising 252
Government Controls on the Media 268
The Media Controls Itself 277
Government Information 281
Addendum, 2012 295
CHAPTER 8: Propaganda, Democracy, and the Internet 307
The Achievements and Promise of the Internet 307
Uncertainties and Negative Features 314
Strategies for Democratizing the Net 319
Propaganda Analysis 335
Conclusion 339
Bibliography 345
Index 355
viii PROPAGANDA AND THE ETHICS OF PERSUASION
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List of Il ustrations
Berliner Lokal-Anzeiger Cover 67
AOL Obama Picture 92
“Soldiers Al ” 97
“Jewels Among Swine” 99
Two-Dimensional Figures 132
BDV Cigarettes Advertisement 184
“Lord Kitchener Wants You” 184
“I Want You for U.S. Army” 184
Colin Powell Holding “Anthrax” 299
Canadian National Vimy Memorial 340
ix
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Preface to the First Edition
The draft of this book was completed before the terrorist attacks of 9/11, but much
of it has relevance to events surrounding that tragedy. The forms of prior and ensu-
ing propaganda have many historical antecedents; hopefully, this book will provide
illuminating parallels and analytical tools with which to assess it. Some of the ideas
here draw inspiration from Albe
rt Camus, who grew up in Algeria, a country that
lived through as intense and vicious a terrorist war as has occurred anywhere. As the
United States and its allies decide how to handle al-Qaeda or other pris oners from
Afghanistan, they might bear in mind Camus’s sage remarks: “Torture has perhaps
saved some, at the expense of honour, by uncovering thirty bombs, but at the same
time it arouses fifty new terrorists who, operating in some other way and in another
place, will cause the death of even more innocent people.”1 A primary purpose of
this book is to arouse a critical spirit among readers against being corral ed by forces
and emotions of the moment into supporting actions that in conscience they will or
should later come to regret. There are many spe cial interests skillful at manipulating
circumstances and communications in such a way as to benefit their own ends and not
necessarily the public good. Hopefully this book will serve as an eye-opener to those
who are not yet media-savvy.
My indebtedness goes back a long way, and to many different people: acknowl-
edgement is a pleasure. I learned about the impact of layout and typog raphy on con-
sciousness while working on the student newspaper at Princeton University. Larry
DuPraz initiated countless generations of Princeton undergraduates to the intrica-
cies of the journalistic art, and I was lucky to be one of those to benefit, in the late
1950s, from his enthusiasm. That was also a time when James Ridgeway, Bill Greider,
xi
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Bob Sklar, Don Kirk, and others got sufficiently under the university administration’s skin that it organized a series of talks by some of the most distinguished journalists
of the time, who left behind a last ing impression on matters of journalistic ethics.
Even before that, Rev. Timothy Horner, OSB and the late Rev. Columba Cary-Elwes,
OSB had started me on the path of philosophy while I was at Ampleforth College
in England; we kept in touch over the decades. Father Timothy steered me towards
Quintus Cicero and away from false etymologies. Of the many different professors
along the way who have supported my career through inspiration or practical assis-
tance, I owe spe cial thanks to Gregory Vlastos, Raymond Klibansky, Ronald Butler,
Robert McRae, and the late G.E.L. Owen, H.L.A. Hart, A.J. Ayer, and John Hunter.
More directly connected with this book was my encounter with Jacques El ul in 1979-
80, and I have the Department of National Defence to thank for the year in Bordeaux
where this took place. Contact with Robert Escarpit was also inspiring, and I have
Jacques and Nicole Palard to thank for vital practical advice and help. In the same year,
William Shawcross kindly gave me an inter view, sharing some of his insights concern-
ing media manipulation by Henry Kissinger. DND agreed with my argument that a
country’s defence requires it to be knowledgeable about propaganda as well as military
matters. Since pro paganda is a tool that can also be misused by officials with their own
axes to grind, my concern was to pursue the goal of educating the public about the
nature of propaganda, rather than to restrict the knowledge to a control ing group. I
chose the path of educating the public by giving the course “Truth and Propaganda”
at Carleton University; it has attracted a generous supply of good students for over
two decades. This book is largely the outcome of that teaching. I have the students to
thank for bringing me up to date on trends I would otherwise have missed.
Carleton has been especially generous in letting me follow my bent, even though
this involved straying from the constraints of traditional disciplinary boundaries.
Along the way various deans have provided financial support: Aviva Freedman, Janice
Yalden, Stuart Adam, and Naomi Griffiths. The Canada Council supported work
Council provided a grant in 2000 for the present work; thanks to both of these coun-
cils. Among colleagues at other universities I am grateful for the stimulation pro-
vided by members of the International Association for Philosophy of Law and Social
Philosophy. Stan Cunningham has communicated helpfully on our shared interest
in propaganda. Numerous col leagues at Carleton, from many different disciplines,
deserve thanks: these include Henry Mayo, Patrick Fitzgerald, Bert Halsall, Trevor
Hodge, George Fraikor, Bob Gould, Basil Mogridge, Jutta Goheen, Doug Wurtele,
Josh Beer, Carter Elwood, Duncan McDowell, Jacob Kovalio, Lloyd Strickland,
Roland Jeffreys, Tom and Marilyn Henighan, Bruce MacFarlane, Sidney Wise, Jean-
Jacques van Vlasselaer, Klaus Pohle, and Patrick MacFadden, as well as current and
former members of my own Department of Philosophy.
xii PROPAGANDA AND THE ETHICS OF PERSUASION
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From outside the university, I am grateful for information and ideas from many current or former civil servants, in particular Keith Wilde, Arthur Cordell, and others in a group organized by Ray Jackson. Fellow members of the executive of the Civil
Liberties Association, National Capital Region, have spurred my interest in issues
such as the media treatment of David Levine, and Errol Sharpe has my thanks for
publishing my work on that subject. Peter Calamai went out of his way to show me
the inner sanctum of the Ottawa Citizen and put me in touch with members of the
editorial staff. The sparring with Peter and other contributors (they know who they
are) to the Propaganda and Media bulletin board at the National Capital Freenet has
been instructive. Clyde Sanger kindly read and commented on a portion of the pres-
ent manuscript. Librarians have given gen erously of their time and expertise; Nancy
Peden, Frances Montgomery, and Barbara Harris are among those most involved in
my area of study.
A sabbatical spent in Oxford in 1987–88 put me in communication with help ful
philosophers and classicists. C.C.W. Taylor, G.A. Cohen, and John Flemming facili-
tated library or personal contacts. The Ockham Society provided incisive crit icism of
some of my initial thoughts on propaganda. The late Sybil Wolfram was most encour-
aging in an editorial capacity during this time. Trinity College helped with lodgings,
and St. Benet’s Hall brought contact with some pertinent medieval scholarship. In the
same year an invitation from the University of York provided incentive for more work
on Fitzjames Stephen.
Another sabbatical at Trinity College, Dublin, in 1994–95, gave me a new set of
valuable colleagues in philosophy and library access to materials that have become
important for the ethical core of the present work. Thanks here are due to then-Dean
Barbara Wright. I have the Irish Philosophy Club to thank for good criticism of some
of the present thoughts on propaganda at its annual meet ing at Ballymascanlon. While
visiting Queen’s University in Belfast, I came in touch with Jonathan Gorman and his
thoughts on William Joyce, useful for the present study. The same year brought valu-
able contact with Robert Fisk and the Irish Times cartoonist, Martyn Turner.
I owe thanks to the helpful staff of many
other institutions: Tony Richards
and others at the Imperial War Museum, the Public Record Office, and the British
Library, particularly Colindale; Frans Van Wijnsberghe of the Bibliothèque Royale
de Belgique; Ben Primer and the Princeton University Seely G. Mudd Manuscript
Library; the Bordeaux University Library; the Cambridge University Library; the
National Library of Canada; the Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense in Milan; and vari-
ous smaller libraries.
I am most grateful to Michael Harrison of Broadview Press and its reviewers for
helping this book along. Betsy Struthers did an outstanding job of copy-edit ing, and I
have to thank her especially for pruning a lot of distracting material and thus making
arguments clearer. She tightened up a lot of unnecessary verbosity and made valuable
PREFACE To THE FIRST EDITIon xiii
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suggestions for modifications and additions. Whatever merits this book may have owe a lot to her substantial efforts.
A conference on “Truth and Propaganda” organized by the Centre of Professional
Ethics at Strathmore College in Nairobi, Kenya took place only a few days after the
events of 9/11 and gave me added reason to draw connections between those events
and the concerns in this book. I would like to thank Strathmore and the many
thoughtful participants at that conference for giving me much to mull over for the
future.
My family have been most helpful with comments over the years: parents, sis ters
and brothers, wife and children. My daughter Christine made many good edi torial
suggestions. I have to give special thanks to my wife Elaine for putting up with all
the absences and distractions that work on a book requires, as well as pro viding most