The Strategy of Propaganda

The Strategy of Propaganda

By Darian Worden

If left-libertarians are to influence people, our ideas must be sufficiently known. A strategy of propaganda that is defined by the general goals of the libertarian left is essential to success. It is necessary to distinguish between general communication and propaganda. The former is organic and ideally involves an exchange of ideas and knowledge between people, while the latter is strategically planned and involves one party sending messages to another. While this essay begins with examples of general communication to help distinguish between it and propaganda, the essay focuses on propaganda while recognizing that both have their place in advocating liberty.

For conversation (not debate or speech-making), throw out the passive-aggressive mind control, the Michael Cloud, and the guru of suggestion approaches to talking with people. Say what you feel like, just as anyone worth talking to would do.

I would expect that few discussions result in immediate “conversions” to libertarianism, as there are many rationalizations for authority that need to be overcome by each individual before arguments for liberty can be sufficiently persuasive. This is emphatically not an insult to non-libertarians – they are simply trying to hold onto their principles. Treating a unique individual as if she was simply a personality type to be decoded before a mechanized process of conversion can begin is certainly less respectful to her humanity than the realization that minds do not function on pure logic.

The best approach for discussions is to be respectful, but natural. A conversation should be two or more people learning from each other, not propaganda, and not a mind game.

Similarly there is no reason to act like it’s okay when your principles are intentionally insulted. Someone far enough from the libertarian left to post “you just don’t want a draft because you’re a bunch of lazy pussies” on a message board is unlikely to be swayed by one session of crafty reasoning, but others who witness your response might be impressed by the intelligent assertion of your principles and gain a new found respect for anarchism, voluntaryism, feminism, or whatever else you emphasize.

Now that we’ve hopefully drawn a distinction between general communication and propaganda, let’s begin strategizing.

Our propaganda goals should fit our strategic goals.

1. Exposure: How many people know much about left-libertarianism? Anarchism in general? Agorism? And so on.

2. Differentiation: What is related to us and what do we oppose? This could possibly be thought of as establishing a brief narrative of conflict and hero.

3. Plurality: We don’t want an army of armband wearers marching in lockstep (at least I don’t and I expect other ALLies don’t either). We are an Alliance, not a united front.

As ideology defines strategy, we should keep in mind the following.

1. We want to empower people, to liberate individuals. Therefore we ought to emphasize individualistic solutions and a plurality of ideas. A basic set of unifying principles should be proclaimed instead of rigid ideological uniformity.

2. Our revolution does not want to create a new authoritarian establishment. One consequence of this desire is that we must focus on building alliances and networks among individuals outside of the establishment and outside of traditional leaders.

A long-term goal of libertarian left propaganda is to hack away at rationalizations for oppression. It will be easier for people to reason themselves to freedom when the sacred cows that block the way have been pulverized by the relentless action of libertarian propagandists.

There should not be a one-size-fits-every-scenario set of rules for propaganda. Instead, the overall goals of a libertarian left propaganda campaign must be kept in mind.

1. Misinformation must be countered. Assertions of authority need to be challenged.

2. Propaganda should grab attention. There are many creative ways to do this, and if fostering more creativity among the populace is a goal, then creativity should be emphasized.

3. Positive and negative must be shown. Liberty is good; oppression is bad. It is important to connect cause and effect by presenting something we uphold as the solution to something we oppose.

4. It is okay to have some detailed messages that consume much time and attention provided there are hooks. However, propaganda should usually be designed to be effective even if only a small part of the material is taken in at a time.

5. Propaganda ought to be thought provoking. It is not necessary to provide answers all of the time if people are asking the right questions.

6. The Alliance of the Libertarian Left is decentralized, so propaganda strategy ought to take decentralization into account. We currently have several bases to download materials from, and the tools to create and distribute propaganda are widespread in the information age. Each local sub-campaign has access to or can create a variety of materials that together facilitate the goals of libertarian left propaganda.

7. Most obvious, but essential to remember, is that the tone and content of propaganda must promote the values of the libertarian left. Materials should be both ideologically sound and free of anything that could be understandably mistaken for authoritarian messages.

Likely audiences should be taken into account. Generalizations can be made but their limits should always be remembered. For example, it might be useful to emphasize theory to students to supplement or subvert lessons from classes, give workers messages focusing on economic empowerment, and show already disaffected people ways of undermining the status quo. This is obviously not a comprehensive study, but perhaps an area where research could be done.

Psychological needs for independence and rebellion can be well provided for by such an anti-establishment ideology as left-libertarianism. The need for fellowship can be satisfied by solidarity (not lockstep unity) and cooperation within the freed market (not dealing unfairly through authoritarian privilege). The desire for empowerment is provided for by the very nature of left-libertarianism and its attitude of “Revolution begins with YOU.”

It should be asked whether it is best to emphasize expected commonalities or expected differences with the audience. The answer depends on the scenario and the purpose of the materials used. The goal is ultimately to have others overcome their differences with us. Sometimes it might be better to explain why we differ on an issue and sometimes it might be best to build a commonality before examining different approaches to common problems.

Propaganda should also take the times into account. Though it may be overly optimistic to believe that we are in the end days of the modern state, the best tone and focus of propaganda today is perhaps different than what it would have been in the heady days of American empire, when supposed victory in Iraq followed supposed victory in Afghanistan and the economy appeared strong.

Let’s take a moment to think about what authoritarian movements offer people. Desires that people have are co-opted, influenced, and/or manufactured by those who want to be in charge. Leninism and Nazism promised followers a part in building a better future. This future was meant for those whom the leaders chose. To foster unity behind the leader, the act of joining the followers was presented to individuals as a method of empowerment and those who were not followers or who were designated as enemies were attacked. United States imperial expansion after September 11 worked in a similar manner. The overwhelming mass murder of people Americans identified with left many feeling vulnerable. The state promised security, and many individuals felt empowered by getting behind the state as they were now part of something that they thought did heroic deeds. Similarly, the Obama campaign profited from the sense of historical significance that it inspired in voters. By supporting the political ambitions of one black man, the voter was told that he would himself be sitting with Rosa

Parks, marching with Martin Luther King, and putting his own hands into building a new tolerant and enlightened nation.

The above paragraph should certainly not be read as examples of what to do. Authoritarian ends are served by authoritarian means. They are examples of what we must undermine. To create the most free world imaginable we must make sure we do not say “empowerment comes from us” but that “empowerment comes from yourself.” To do otherwise only sets people up to fall for the tricks of leaders. Our goals require severing identity from statehood and authority, and putting peoples’ desires back into their hands.

We have many tools at our disposal, which brings us to our final numeric list.

1. Printed literature and posters: The New Jersey Alliance of the Libertarian Left (nj.libertarianleft.org) has many downloads and links to other left-libertarian materials. The enterprising ALLy can create her own materials. Powerful graphics and publishing tools can be acquired on the white market or through counter-economic means, open source software can be downloaded, and with a little planning word processors and MS Paint can be used for simpler things. If you don’t have access to a printer, your friends might. College students are often expected to waste paper, so you can help them fill their quota.

2. Videos: Youtube and other video sharing tools open a world of opportunity for anyone with video editing or animation skills. A video with enough hooks can go viral or be embedded where useful.

3. Social Networking: The obvious Myspace and Facebook present opportunities to share all kinds of information in graphic or textual form. In addition, there are social networking pages and forums that center around specific communities that may not have heard the libertarian left word yet. It might be beneficial to think of oneself as contributing to said networks, not taking them over.

4. Entertainment: First, understand that bias is not the same as propaganda. Creative works are always written through the biases of their authors and will likely reflect those biases. Propaganda, however, can involve intentionally making a political message entertaining. Such efforts don’t have to beat viewers in the face with ideology, but can include desirable themes in the background.

5. The Streets: Street theater, graffiti, event disruptions, flyers, banner drops, etc can put dissent right in the faces of everyone who cares to look. While establishment media is likely to ignore small actions, the way your action and message will be presented by them should always be taken into account and contingency plans put in place.

6. Show and Tell: Building alternative networks, structures, and services can be used to present the gathering revolution to people. Mutual aid and counter-economics are both suited to this idea.

Propaganda is often treated as a dirty word implying some kind of deception. This is primarily due to the skillful use of propaganda techniques by unsavory and unpopular characters. When the same techniques are used by unsavory but popular characters, it is usually called “information” or “truth.” A successful Alliance of the Libertarian Left must use the strategy of propaganda in an honest and unashamed way if we are to combat the lies of the oppressors.

Darian Worden is a writer and activist from New Jersey. See his works at darianworden.com.