A thought on propaganda, and who craves it

“Only the mob and the elite can be attracted by the momentum of totalitarianism itself. The masses have to be won by propaganda.”
— Hannah Arendt

Hannah Arendt, who had an enormous influence on what people made of tyranny in the 20th century, wrote these words in her 1951 book The Burden of Our Time, which was published in the U.S. and elsewhere as The Origins of Totalitarianism. So many of her insights, about what she witnessed watching fascists before, during and after the Second World War, remains timely.

There is a still a demand for her work. I’ve been waiting since July via the Libby app to read this book through my local library.