by Edward L. Bernays (Author)
Edward Louis Bernays (1891-1995), the recognized father of public relations and nephew of Sigmund Freud, was a pioneer American publicist in the field of propaganda (describing it as a necessary component of democratic government) and generally considered to have been the first to develop the idea of the professional public relations counselor. He worked for dozens of government agencies, politicians, nonprofits, and major American corporations, with his best-known work being a 1929 campaign to promote female smoking by branding cigarettes as feminist "Torches of Freedom." His book Propaganda explores the psychology behind manipulating the masses (describing them as irrational and subject to herd instinct) and the ability to use symbolic action and propaganda to influence politics, effect social change, and lobby for gender and racial equality, before outlining how skilled practitioners can use crowd psychology and psychoanalysis to control the masses in desired ways.