Intellectualism and Propaganda
By Elempe Dele
There was a quote I read in a small but fascinating book some two decades ago that I can longer quote verbatim. It had to do with the decontextualization and interrogation of held believes and theories by successive generations. That successive generations are inquisitve to the extent they detach themselves from the herd or the masses by discarding some of the things they were told.
I can however recall the quote credited to the English and Philosopher, Aldous Huxley: “Unlike the masses, intellectuals have a taste for rationality and interest in facts. Their critical habit of the mind makes them resistant to the kind of propaganda that works so well on the majority.”
Huxley, in his astuteness as a philosopher used the above quote to interprete the differences between the masses and the intellectuals when it comes to the issue of propaganda. While the intellectuals are secured from propaganda, the masses; consisting of the poor and uneducated are very vulnerable. The intellectuals are critical thinkers and rationalists who are not easily swayed or manipulated by propaganda.
Intellectuals are those individuals who have serious hunger for reason and craving for empiricism. Their minds are developed to interrogate issues beyond the surface. They are analytical, they examine information critically and their processes of thoughts are matured. These makes them less vulnerable to the magic of propaganda. Meanwhile, the masses form the easy targets of propagandists because they are more emotional than reasonable.
One of the advantages of intellectualism is that it forms a fortress against the crafty appeal of propaganda. The intellectual is not easily swayed because he is conscientious in processing information at his disposal. He is averse to taking issues as he is given without any adherence to the simple inquisitive theories and empiricism. The intellectual is himself a fortification against the propagandist, the manipulator, the peddler of disinformation and those who sell transparent untruth.
The regular folks are emotive beings; they are easily carried away with emotional stories, deceptions and lies, while the intellectuals are rock-steady in their fellowship to provable facts and the rigours of logical reasoning. They are not easily persuaded by propagandists who wish to control the behaviours of the masses through emotive rhetorics full of untruths.
The intellectuals are those who have cultured their minds away from simplicity, and simpletons who have been manipulated through gaslighting and other deceptive tactics. They are those who are dedicated to facts and the process of qualitative reasoning, which equip them against the wiles of propagandists.
It is with the fidelity to rational thinking that the intellectual is immuned from the encircling influence of the propagandist. The intellectual is a critical thinker and a committer to facts. He takes his lessons from history and the material world he can observe. He is three times fortified against any sort of propaganda. The intellectual is that one who has eaten from the pot of rationality. He is that man who is interested more in provable facts, so he takes his time to process information. He knows the purpose of propaganda; he decides to be against it. He is committed to facts, logical reason and his intellectual honesty is firm.
