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Even though I just got a new book, I’m already obsessing over wanting to read another. I want to get books written by Edward Bernays, nephew of Sigmund Freud and father of our PR industry. He helped create the multibillion-dollar business of controlling the masses by appealing to their basic desires. I think it’s important to learn his ideas, seeing as how corporations and our government are putting them to work in full force. He believed democracy only works when the masses are controlled by an elite few through subtle manipulation (propaganda without the totalitarianism). After using his ideas to invent support for World War I, Bernays realized he could make a mint applying his skills to Madison Avenue.

I just started learning about him last week, and yesterday I already saw one of his tactics being put to use. A study came out saying the antidepressant Zoloft is safe and effective for kids. The study, conducted by various doctors around the country, was financed by … Pfizer, maker of Zoloft.

Bernays would be proud. You make a drug - nobody knows exactly how it works, but it raises serotonin levels. Some people think depression and anxiety are linked to lower serotonin levels, so you sell the drug for that. You do well, but you want a bigger customer base. You finance a study that says your drug is safe and effective for children. Then, you have the “independent medical group” publish their findings and send out a news release touting the results of the study. The press release gets picked up by the wires, and before you know it it’s all over the media. By that evening local newscasters are doing consumer-interest features on the study.

We are surrounded this type of manipulation every day, financed by a behemoth behind-the-scenes industry. And our government is pretty damn good at putting Bernays’ concepts to work, too. It’s a little creepy.