On 14 February 2009 Mike Palij wrote: >>By 1939, Bernays was already the leading PR man in America > for two decades and had been hired by the car companies to > advance their cause.
> Given what Wikipedia provides, I think the emphasis on > cars is misplaced. His distinction between "public relations" > and "advertising" is worth noting especially in that he felt > that public relations was intrinsic to democracy > (if one accepted Freudian notions like "herd instinct"). I don't think it can be said that the notion of the "herd instinct" is Freudian. I expect it goes back a long way as a conception, and it is to be found, as Freud discusses for a whole chapter in "Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego" (1921), in le Bon's (non-psychoanalytic) book *Psychologie des foules* (1895). (I don't know what equivalent French expression le Bon used. -:) ) In another chapter titled "The Herd Instinct", Freud also discusses Trotter's (non-psychoanalytic) *Instincts of the Herd in Peace and War* (1916) in which the notion is explored at length. Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London http://www.esterson.org --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
