Page 139 - Šolsko polje, XXVIII, 2017, no. 3-4: Education and the American Dream, ed. Mitja Sardoč
P. 139
i. bijuklič ■ manufacturing and selling a way of life
later, following this blueprint, in their entire social existence, as consum-
ers, as soldiers, as voters, etc. Unity as a standardization of thought and
behaviour was seen as condition sine qua non for methodical efficiency as
promoted by the widely acclaimed Taylorist system8. The dominant per-
spective that still today declares how immigrants have shaped the great-
ness of the United States is almost completely neglecting the previous and
far more decisive part of this process. Namely, how an industrial9 society
imposed demands on mostly preindustrial immigrant populations in or-
der to shape them as functional to fulfil the quest for national prosperity,
which at that time already lost its liberal individual character and was ele-
vated to a unitary national aspiration and purpose.
Bernays (1928) offers perhaps one of the most explicit insights into
what kind of social existence or way of life should constitute the new or-
der. In his introduction to modern propaganda and PR as techniques of
intelligent men »by which they can fight for productive ends and help
to bring order out of chaos« (Bernays, 1928: p. 159), he reveals a specific
consent imposed to all of its members. »We are governed, our minds are
molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we nev-
er heard of. This is the logical way in which our democratic society is or-
ganised. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner
if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society« (ibid., 9).
To summarize, an accomplished society that can finally explain its exist-
ence and purpose in terms of an efficiently running machine, which tends
to perfect its functioning as a gigantic household according to organisa-
tional principles of love and harmony, must reasonably give up physical
coercion. Instead, the modern society demands from every of its belong-
ing »parts« to cooperate actively in their own adjustment, to participate
in being molded, seduced, manipulated, etc.10 Also Lasswell dispels any
doubt about this: »If the mass will be free of chains of iron, it must accept
its chains of silver« (Lasswell, 1927: p. 222).
8 The ambitions of Taylor’s scientific management went far beyond organising the human
element in various forms of industrial production processes. Considering his methods,
which were intended for every conceivable human activity and social function, he was
clearly developing a general social practice based on an applicable science: »methods de-
veloped for dealing with natural laws and materials, were also used to deal with everything
else, not just with humans, but social relations in general« (Marković, 2006, 44).
9 See King (2000)
10 Straightforwardness and sometimes harsh language common for Progressive thinkers is
not a matter of simple impudence, but reveals in its depth the way in which they disclosed
the world around them. As engineers of the social realm they do not see individuals that
can independently develop their capacities, but raw material, psychological structures that
can be molded and formed for the »right cause«.
137
later, following this blueprint, in their entire social existence, as consum-
ers, as soldiers, as voters, etc. Unity as a standardization of thought and
behaviour was seen as condition sine qua non for methodical efficiency as
promoted by the widely acclaimed Taylorist system8. The dominant per-
spective that still today declares how immigrants have shaped the great-
ness of the United States is almost completely neglecting the previous and
far more decisive part of this process. Namely, how an industrial9 society
imposed demands on mostly preindustrial immigrant populations in or-
der to shape them as functional to fulfil the quest for national prosperity,
which at that time already lost its liberal individual character and was ele-
vated to a unitary national aspiration and purpose.
Bernays (1928) offers perhaps one of the most explicit insights into
what kind of social existence or way of life should constitute the new or-
der. In his introduction to modern propaganda and PR as techniques of
intelligent men »by which they can fight for productive ends and help
to bring order out of chaos« (Bernays, 1928: p. 159), he reveals a specific
consent imposed to all of its members. »We are governed, our minds are
molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we nev-
er heard of. This is the logical way in which our democratic society is or-
ganised. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner
if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society« (ibid., 9).
To summarize, an accomplished society that can finally explain its exist-
ence and purpose in terms of an efficiently running machine, which tends
to perfect its functioning as a gigantic household according to organisa-
tional principles of love and harmony, must reasonably give up physical
coercion. Instead, the modern society demands from every of its belong-
ing »parts« to cooperate actively in their own adjustment, to participate
in being molded, seduced, manipulated, etc.10 Also Lasswell dispels any
doubt about this: »If the mass will be free of chains of iron, it must accept
its chains of silver« (Lasswell, 1927: p. 222).
8 The ambitions of Taylor’s scientific management went far beyond organising the human
element in various forms of industrial production processes. Considering his methods,
which were intended for every conceivable human activity and social function, he was
clearly developing a general social practice based on an applicable science: »methods de-
veloped for dealing with natural laws and materials, were also used to deal with everything
else, not just with humans, but social relations in general« (Marković, 2006, 44).
9 See King (2000)
10 Straightforwardness and sometimes harsh language common for Progressive thinkers is
not a matter of simple impudence, but reveals in its depth the way in which they disclosed
the world around them. As engineers of the social realm they do not see individuals that
can independently develop their capacities, but raw material, psychological structures that
can be molded and formed for the »right cause«.
137
