Liberty. Equality. Fraternity.

“For the masses promised to become Kings.”

— Edward Bernays, Propaganda, 1928

The French Revolution represents one of the greatest and most important power shifts in the history of the Western world. Before the French aristocracy was so unceremoniously unseated from both throne and shoulders, a clear hierarchy of power divided the social classes.

THE ESTATESMEN

At the top of this hierarchy was the First Estate, the Clergy. Within France, these were the religious leaders: The priests, the bishops, and the spiritual advisors. The Clergy derived their authority from God.

Below the Clergy was the Second Estate, the Nobility. France’s King Louis XIV, for example, was able to make decisions related to law, economics, war, geopolitics, and social life… all by royal decree. The locus of France’s political power rested in the well-(high)-heeled hands of the man on the throne. It was the Divine Right of Kings for the crown to wield this power. This power was absolute. If the Clergy represented God’s voice, the king’s authority represented God’s will.

Below the aristocracy, but not at the bottom, was the bourgeoisie. Technically a part of the Third Estate, the bourgeoisie included the merchants, the business owners, and the land owners. Much of the bourgeoisie accumulated influence, land, and money by their proximity to the throne. The bourgeoisie didn’t possess an independent source of power, themselves. Instead, they functionally borrowed from its true source, the nobility, by way of land grants, trade monopolies, and the ability (permission) to peacefully conduct business.

At the bottom of this hierarchy, the true Third Estate, resided the proletariat — the masses. This group represented the vast majority by population but held little influence in medieval Europe.

THE REVOLUTION BEFORE THE REVOLUTION

But, before the political revolution came a technological revolution: the Industrial Revolution. This era of history began 30+ years before the Tennis Court Insurrection and threatened the power of the crown in a much more existential way. The Industrial Revolution allowed for the proliferation of steam power, growing urbanization in European cities, and public education for the masses.

Then, the French Revolution changed everything. It didn’t eliminate the power disparity. It simply tore down the institutions that wielded this power and assigned it to a new owner — This social organism we call “the People”.

It’s no coincidence that the French Revolution came only 14 years after the beginning of the American Revolution. These insurgencies represented a fundamental shift that would come to define a new era of Western liberal values: The power to rule is owned by the ruled and granted to the ruler.

INFLUENCE BY PROXY

In the aftermath of the French Revolution, after all the fighting, the storming, the beheading, and the brioche-eating, the former ruling class came to a realization: Just because you no longer possess Divine Right doesn't mean you can’t wield that same power by proxy.

Political and social power was now in the metaphorical hands of the People. But, just like individuals can be coerced, a People can be influenced. A creative aristocrat, with the proper resources, can sway the opinion of the People to direct their actions toward their own ends.

This form of influence is what became known as “propaganda”.

In the words of Bernays, the minority will “mold the mind of the masses that they will throw their newly gained strength in the desired direction.”

DIFFERENT TOOLS, SAME STRATEGIES

We may not realize it, but propaganda has always been a force employed by small groups in an attempt to popularize an ideology. The only difference between now and 300 years ago is that we use different words to describe the same forms of influence:

“Propaganda”: In the 1920s, ‘30s, and ‘40s, Allied and Axis powers used wartime propaganda to evangelize their nation’s citizens against a common enemy.

“Advertising”: In the 1950s and ‘60s, those state-sponsored Signal Officers became the public relations experts and advertising executives on Madison Ave., playing a fundamental role in convincing Americans to eat bacon for breakfast, blow their life savings on a diamond ring, and “think small”.

“Reporting”: In the 1970s and ‘80s, American intelligence agencies orchestrated global propaganda campaigns, planted false stories, and manipulated the press in an attempt to stop the spread of a competing ideology: Communism.

“Marketing”: The ‘90s and early 2000s became the peak of mass marketing over television. By 1990, 98% of American households owned a television, and 65% of households had a cable subscription. The airwaves were dominated by iconic advertising campaigns from Budweiser, Taco Bell, and the lesser-known California Milk Advisory Board.

“Influencing”: In the 2010s, “Influencer Marketing” became a common tool for businesses of all sizes to reach niche audiences by leveraging the authority of an industry expert or online influencer.

“FYP”: Today, the largest social media platforms have access to more demographic, psychographic, and behavioral data than what has been produced in all of previous human history, combined. For reference, about 90% of the world’s data was generated in the last 2 years. With that information, these platforms can serve their users algorithmically curated content that is tailored perfectly to the preferences of the individual… or the preferences of those who control the algorithm.

The tools of the Propagandist have changed, but the strategies remain the same.

WE’RE ALL PROPAGANDISTS

The French Revolution represents a rare moment in history when a convergence of forces resulted in a fundamental restructuring of the relationship between the rulers and the ruled.

To this day, power still resides in the hands of the (capital-P) People, at least within the Western world. Without this shift, propaganda wouldn’t need to exist. There would be no reason to direct the strength of the People towards an action, a product, or an ideology if that power was already held by a single, absolute sovereign.

That’s why this current moment in history is so important.

The unrelenting pace of technological change continues to shape a world that we increasingly struggle to comprehend. The speed and complexity of this change disorients us and induces a deep desire to find a simple story that can help us make sense of it all.

This puts the Propagandist at an advantage.

This is also why it is so important to learn the strategies used by Propagandists to create and disseminate narratives. The more complexity we experience in this world, the easier it is for those narratives to shape our understanding of it.

235 years after the beginning of the French Revolution, the masses have kept their promise to become Kings.

And, unsurprisingly, these new Kings look a lot like the old ones.

Stay ungovernable,

— Nick