Another author I need to check out: Edward Bernays

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bernays

Bibliography

* The Broadway Anthology (1917, co-author)
* Crystallizing Public Opinion (1923) OCLC 215243834
* A Public Relations Counsel (1927)
* An Outline of Careers; a practical guide to achievement by thirty-eight eminent Americans (1927)
* Verdict of public opinion on propaganda (1927)
* Propaganda (1928), Horace Liveright, ISBN 978-0804615112, fulltext online
* This Business of Propaganda (1928)
* Universities—pathfinders in public opinion (1937)
* Careers for men; a practical guide to opportunity in business, written by thirty-eight successful Americans (1939)
* Speak up for democracy; what you can do—a practical plan of action for every American citizen (1940)
* Future of private enterprise in the post-war world (1942)
* Democratic leadership in total war (1943)
* Psychological blueprint for the peace—Canada, U.S.A. (1944)
* Public relations (1945)
* Take your place at the peace table (1945)
* What the British think of us; a study of British hostility to America and Americans and its motivation, with recommendations for improving Anglo-American relations (1950, co-author with his wife Doris Fleischman)
* Engineering of consent (1955, contributor) OCLC 550584
* Your future in public relations (1961)
* Biography of an idea: memoirs of public relations counsel (1965)
* Case for Reappraisal of U.S. Overseas Information Policies and Programs (Special Study) (1970), by Edward L. Bernays and Burnet Hershey (editors)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Engineering_of_Consent

"The Engineering of Consent" is an essay by Edward Bernays first published in 1947.[1] He defines "engineering consent" as the art of manipulating people; specifically, the American public, who are described as "fundamentally irrational people... who could not be trusted."[citation needed] It maintained that entire populations, which were undisciplined or lacking in intellectual or definite moral principles, were vulnerable to unconscious influence and thus susceptible to want things that they do not need. This was achieved by linking those products and ideas to their unconscious desires. Ernest Dichter, who is widely considered to be the "father of motivational research," referred to this as "the secret-self of the American consumer."[citation needed]

In other words, consumer psychologists have already made the choice for people before they buy a certain product. This is achieved by manipulating desires on an unconscious level.

The central idea behind the engineering of consent is that the public or people should not be aware of the manipulation taking place.

The "Engineering Consent" chapter of Christopher Bryson's book "The Fluoride Deception" describes how Bernays helped the water fluoridation campaign in the USA.