Social engineering

Social engineering link (Social control, Soft power, Statecraft, Social change, Mind control)
File:Social engineering.jpg
The calculated influencing of society on a large scale, often over a long term.

Social engineering can be seen as pre-emptive social control; if people are sufficiently well engineered to fit society, they will need minimal control. 21^st century technology simultaneously offers huge potential to those who would engineer society and to those who would seek to resist such control.

Official Narrative

The term sociale ingenieurs was introduced in an essay by the Dutch industrialist J. C. Van Marken in 1894. Wikipedia remarks that "extremely intensive social engineering campaigns occurred in countries with authoritarian governments" and focuses on USSR and China.

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Omissions

Echoing the information provided in schools and the other institutions of the commercially-controlled media, Wikipedia notes that "discussion of techniques of social engineering, particularly in advertising, is still quite pertinent in the western model of consumer capitalism" but has little else to say about the extensive social engineering that has been carried out in the "democracies" such as USA and UK. There is no discussion, for example, of the impact of television or schools.

In 2015 in the USA the pervasive climate of fear has lead adults to call the police after noting a 4-year-old playing alone at an outdoor playground 120 feet from his front door. When he refused to go home as he wasn't finished playing, neighbours called the police and his mother faces months in jail.

Dumbing Down

Full article: Dumbing down

John Taylor Gatto argued that the rise of commercially-controlled media, mass advertising and mass compulsion schooling effected a dumbing down whereby people over generations have become less self-reliant, less creative and more reliant on government.

Schooling

Full article: School

Mass compulsion schooling was promoted from the late 19^th century onwards and has served for over a century in many countries of the world as a highly effective instrument of social engineering, as ably documented by John Taylor Gatto. Ellwood Cubberly, editor of primary school text books, dean of teacher education at Stanford University established an "Education Trust". In 1906 he wrote that "in the new schools coming, children are to be shaped and fashioned like nails, and the specifications will come from business and government." In his History Of American Education, Cubberly casually mentions that childhood has been extended by 4 years.

Consumerism

Full article: Consumerism

Ivan Illich named schooling as the reproductive organ of the consumer society.

Strategy of tension

Full article: Strategy of tension

The strategy of tension is a method of changing society, promoting fear and weakening popular resistance to make the general public more easily led. It emerged into public consciousness as Operation Gladio was exposed in Italy as the years of lead drew to a close.

Practical Examples

When videogame developer Rockstar first released Grand Theft Auto, they actually paid reviewers to negatively review the game in order to keep it controversial, and therefore popular. They targeted right wing news papers to ensure moral outrage and drive the game to success. According to them, they hired PR firm DMA Design - who played the PR game perfectly by enlisting controversial PR guru Max Clifford to help essentially big-up the game's more contentious aspects. GTA creator Mike Dailly stated, "He designed all the outcry, which pretty much guaranteed MPs would get involved...He'd do anything to keep the profile high." Clifford's genius campaign involved getting stories planted in relevant newspapers - I think you know which ones - well aware that they would promptly spark a moral outrage among right-wing politicians and activist groups in particular".