Walter Lippmann's Public Opinion (1922) argues humans can't fully grasp complex issues. We rely on simplified ideas (stereotypes) and media portrayals ('pseudo-environments') to form opinions. He suggests experts, not the public, should guide society due to these limitations. Though controversial, it remains a crucial text in understanding public opinion, media influence, and the challenges of democracy.
An instrumental work on today's outlook on the dominance of media in democracy, Public Opinion, is a key work by author Walter Lippmann. Does the manufacturing of consent amount to a democracy in the way democracy is practiced? Does the mass media have a control over the public opinion? These are questions that are more important today with the emergence of new technologies like the internet, and older technologies, like television, which are being politically dominated by an opportunistic media. Public Opinion is a highly recommended work for those who are interested in understanding the role of media and public opinion in politics and also those who enjoy the writings of Walter Lippmann.
Walter Lippmann gilt als einer der einflussreichsten Propagandisten des Neoliberalismus und einer gelenkten Demokratie, der dem marktradikalen Denken zum Siegeszug verhalf. Lippmanns 1922 erschienenes Buch 'Public Opinion' gilt als ein Klassiker in Sachen Manipulation und Beeinflussung der öffentlichen Meinung. Von ihm wurde der Begriff 'Kalter Krieg' geprägt und in den allgemeinen Sprachgebrauch gebracht. Weil die Durchschnittsbürger in einer Demokratie damit überfordert sind, komplexe gesellschaftliche Zusammenhänge zu durchschauen, entwickelte er das Konzept einer gelenkten Demokratie, um die Meinung der Masse mit Hilfe manipulativer Techniken zu steuern. Seine Methoden der Meinungsbeeinflussung sind heute aktueller denn je.
Walter Lippmann gilt als einer der einflussreichsten Propagandisten des Neoliberalismus und einer gelenkten Demokratie, der dem marktradikalen Denken zum Siegeszug verhalf. Lippmanns 1922 erschienenes Buch Public Opinion gilt als ein Klassiker in Sachen Manipulation und Beeinflussung der öffentlichen Meinung. Von ihm wurde der Begriff Kalter Krieg geprägt und in den allgemeinen Sprachgebrauch gebracht. Weil die Durchschnittsbürger in einer Demokratie damit überfordert sind, komplexe gesellschaftliche Zusammenhänge zu durchschauen, entwickelte er das Konzept einer gelenkten Demokratie, um die Meinung der Masse mit Hilfe manipulativer Techniken zu steuern. Seine Methoden der Meinungsbeeinflussung sind heute aktueller denn je.
An instrumental work on today's outlook on the dominance of media in democracy, Public Opinion, is a key work by author Walter Lippmann. Does the manufacturing of consent amount to a democracy in the way democracy is practiced? Does the mass media have a control over the public opinion? These are questions that are more important today with the emergence of new technologies like the internet, and older technologies, like television, which are being politically dominated by an opportunistic media. Public Opinion is a highly recommended work for those who are interested in understanding the role of media and public opinion in politics and also those who enjoy the writings of Walter Lippmann.
Walter Lippmann still stands today as one of the foremost figures of American political journalism, social commentary, and cultural criticism. At the age of 24, he published A Preface to Politics; that same year, along with Herbert Croly and Walter Weyl, he founded The New Republic magazine. In short, he burst upon the scene. He went on to become an advisor to Woodrow Wilson and was involved in drafting Wilson's famous "Fourteen Points." He won the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964, the Pulitzer Prise in 1958 and again in 1961.
The fundamental message of A Preface to Politics is that statesmanship cannot succeed if it focuses merely on the forms and mechanics of government and the technical development and administration of policy. Political leadership can only be successful if political leaders attune themselves to the human beings they lead, keeping themselves abreast of their wants and needs and the social and cultural movements among them. No political mechanism can function without intelligent, perceptive, and responsive people to make it work.
It is startling to see how relevant, indeed important, Lippmann's message still is, over a century after it was written. In our day as in his, deliberate lies and deception is the rule in the highest offices of our government. He saw the same fundamental corruption at work in our national politics as still pollutes it today. Then, as now, he emphasizes the vital importance of informal leadership exercised by educated, informed, energetic people who function as activists and visionaries in the endless process of maintaining a responsive society and government.
Over and over again, Lippmann's message will make us open our eyes to what is still critically important.
Enjoy!
![[German] - Die öffentliche Meinung: Wie sie entsteht und manipuliert wird Audiobook](https://covers.audiobooks.com/images/covers/large/9783954716517.jpg)
