Vladimir Lenin achieved power in Russia through a host of promises to the people. Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, he broke virtually every one of those promises and replaced them with propaganda.
In an Investors.com column, Friday, Monica Showalter discussed the six principles of propaganda Lenin used to consolidate power in post-revolution Russia. Here is a summary:
1. The Ends Justify the Means : The broken promises of Lenins regime delivered just the opposite. He guaranteed a free press, but in his first two days of communist rule he halted it. He called it temporary, but it wasnt.
Lenin also won power through promises to broaden land ownership, but immediately issued decrees outlawing private property.
Lenin justified his broken promises with one idea: consolidating power.
2. The Firstest with the Mostest : Besides implementing a strategy of lies, Lenin also was quick to seize the semantic high ground. He swiftly altered and manipulated the meanings of words intellectually disarming opponents.
At a 1903 party congress, Lenin won a membership issue by a single vote. But from then on he called his faction the Bolsheviks, or majoritarians, and his opponents Mensheviks, or minoritarians. It didnt matter that the Bolsheviks never were a true majority among Russias revolutionaries; what mattered was the perception of power.
Lenin also took title to the word democracy, disarming opponents who were then unable to project a coherent message. By controlling words, Lenin controlled perceptions of reality.
3. Never Let a Crisis go to Waste : As propagandists, the Bolsheviks were not especially persuasive. The Russian socialists have contributed nothing to the theoretical discussion of the techniques of mass persuasion, wrote [Peter] Kenez [in "A Hostory of the Soviet Union from the Beginning to the End"]: They never looked for and did not find devilishly clever methods to influence peoples minds, to brainwash them.
What they were expert at was making these gray organs newspapers] into monopolies. Instead of persuading with words, Lenin simply closed other papers, leaving only the Bolshevik publications. The resultant monopoly intensified the impact of his Bolshevik message.
4. Demonization : In denouncing opponents, Lenin was obsessive, virulent and personal, calling them bloodsuckers, insects, spiders, leeches and vampires. The bourgeois were ex-people. The murder of Czar Nicholas II and his family was termed a humane act.
Then there were hoarders, wreckers, saboteurs and, worst of all, Kulaks the prosperous and industrious peasants of whom Lenin spoke only with the most seething hatred.
5. Propaganda of Example : Perhaps the most disturbing means of propaganda against Russias mostly illiterate population was the use of example as part of a reign of terror. Public hangings and shootings served as well as any written material to force Russians into submission. These swine have to be dealt with so that everyone will remember it for years, Lenin wrote.
To reinforce the Bolsheviks monopoly of ideas, churches were targeted for destruction because Russian peasants believed what they heard there.
6. Blame your Predecessor : As has happened anytime socialism has been tried, it was a failure. Lenins civil war cost 13 million lives and his ruinous economic policies triggered the famine of 1921-1922. YouTube has many videos of Lenin speaking, with the salient feature being his propensity to blame his predecessor, the Czar, for the economic havoc.
Eventually, Lenin would be forced to backtrack on communism to hold on to power. But error was never admitted and his New Economic Plan proved only to be a breather ahead of even worse horrors to come under Joseph Stalin.
Click here to read the full article.
To [correctly] quote the famous admonition of Santayana [who is often misquoted]:
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
While the horrors of the Russian Revolution are not likely to visit themselves upon the civilized countries of the 21st century, George Santayanas words to the wise are well worth heeding.
The article is published under history & sociology . As such it is in its correct category and reasonably timely especially since the left wing on NT routinely use Lenin's methodology to promote their propaganda .
Would you like examples ?
Its a def possibility . Would you like to supply details ?
So you admit it without even having links ... Why am I not surprised ?
And you consistently avoid answering direct questions of course . Must avoided being proved wrong of course .
Thanks for demonstrating Leninist propaganda techniques right here . No need for me to hunt for a link . I knew I could count on you !
Very interesting article . There's a lot of links to follow up on .
This statement caught my eye :
Already, Obamas economic policies have hurt the middle class.
I made a comment elsewhere that Obama is attempting to make all of us black [in terms of economic opportunities] .
This link was very telling .
If Obama ever starts agreeing with the Pope about that agenda there will be no uncertainty about him anymore .
Ahhh! Meet the new john r., same as the old john r.?
Hoist by his own petard! Nice job, Petey. Simply provide the venue, and he proves your point for you!
1. The Ends Justify the Means: - A GOP strategy. To prevent a few blacks from abusing the system, conservatives want to eliminate those programs altogether, such as food stamps. While many innocent, including children will suffer, the ends will justify the means, as the abusers will be gone.
2. The Firstest with the Mostest: - In both US parties, those whom are in line first with the most money, can buy out their favorite politician.
3. Never Let a Crisis go to Waste (even if it isnt a crisis) According to the TP/GOP, Benghazi was a crises of apocalyptic proportions.
4. Demonization:- That black guy, Obama, is the anti-christ, liberals are agents of satan.
5. Propaganda of Example: - Family Values didn't quite work for Republicans so they slowly buried it. Now, they set an example of being firm and steady against any legislation that black president proposes.
6. Blame your Predecessor: - After getting elected, Team Bush went around blaming the countrys woes on Bill Clinton. The Democrats did the same after Obama took office, (blame Bush) but in that case, it was factual.
1. The Ends Justify the Means
Sorry but you haven't grasped the details of this one . Saving money is an important goal if not carried to extremes . The minor cuts in food stamps are hardly a good example . Here's an actual example :
Like Lenin Obama has indicated he supports a free press . But now that he has been in office for awhile and the honeymoon is over the press has suffered some major restrictions . When he ran for office he claimed he was going to roll back the extreme legislation of the Bush Admin [like the Patriot Act ] . He didn't . But he did expand it .
3. Never Let a Crisis go to Waste:
Here are some better examples :
Middle east Muslims almost declared war because of a silly video which defamed Mohammed . Obama bent over backwards and even faked the news behind the Benghazi events to appease them .
Obama has consistently made a BIG DEAL over the issue of gay marriage . This is an issue of no consequence to the real problems the US is facing , namely the economy [ "It's the economy stupid"] . But Obama is desperate to cover up his inadequacies so he distracts from his failures by pointing to this non-consequential issue . THAT is classic Marxist propaganda .
4. Demonization:- That black guy, Obama, is the anti-christ, liberals are agents of satan.
Well ... it is exaggerated BUT he does utilize Marxist propaganda techniques .
5. Propaganda of Example: - Family Values didn't quite work for Republicans
Ya got me there . Obama has NO INTEREST in family values . He wants the entire country to assume the values of the average black ghetto family . Who needs a father ? Not us .
2. & 6. Yup . Except that Clinton got NAFTA going w/o taking measures about its ill effects on US employment .
You're not sounding very Marxist now John . You've got to DOMINATE if you want to succeed . Find your inner asshole ... I know you can do it . I've seen it from you before.
Thanks for supplying the details John . I should probably leave it to BF to respond ...
He was a politician, it is fairly much a given that he was an asshole by virtue of that alone.
In the history of politics there were some exceptional assholes . Don't judge by today's standards . For his time Lenin was THE preeminent asshole of his era .
Perhaps, but we have one or two that would give him a run for his rubles.
I think if you read the seeded article you will change your mind . Lenin was an extreme by any standards . And he brought about massive destruction of life as a result , then lied about it .
There are only a few who compare in history . Perhaps the most recent was Pol Pot of Asia .