Politics and Propaganda

Propaganda is one of those unfortunate words that’s almost always used pejoratively. Hibbert, therefore, deserves our congratulations for pointing out that any message deemed fit for spreading is propaganda – be it ‘Labour isn’t working’ or ‘Things can only get better.’ That sorted, the author goes on to provide a lucid and highly readable run-down of how propaganda is done – personality cults, symbols, phraseologies, media management, grand gestures are all dissected and explained and their employment in oiling the wheels of the political machine well demonstrated. Hibbert remains impressively neutral throughout this discourse and provides a much better read than his title suggests he might. But then, if we all recognised the true meaning of ‘propaganda’, that shouldn’t be the surprise it is.