Propaganda - the formation of men’s attitudes
Propaganda must always fight against "privatization," the feeling that leads man to consider his private affairs as most important and produces skepticism toward the activities of the State, the Ohne Mich ideology such as was rife in Germany after 1945, a conviction that all is useless, that to vote means nothing, that "it's not worth-while to die for Danzig." Propaganda has absolutely no effect on those who live in such indifference or skepticism. One of the great differences between propaganda before and after 1940 was that in Western countries the latter had to face skeptical and "privatized" individuals. A modern State can function only if the citizens give it their support, and that support can be obtained only if privatization is erased, if propaganda succeeds in politicizing all questions, in arousing individual passions for political problems, in convincing men that activity in politics is their duty. The churches often participate in campaigns (without understanding that they are propaganda) designed to demonstrate that participation in civic affairs is fundamentally a religious duty.