Long ago, at a blog called nourishing obscurity, later stolen by Blgr, there was a post on Groupthink and techniques used on individuals and groups to artificially “manufacture consent out of nothing”.
One way was the formalised Delphi technique, another was the notion of “well-formed outcomes”, a favourite of a govt body called Common Purpose, whose early motto was “leading beyond authority”.
One case study was the Scottish Arts Council meeting concerning funding, chaired by one Julia Middleton, who had gathered “leaders of art in Scotland” into a room to “thrash out” (read “impose”) Arts Policy for Scotland.
One “gathered” artist called her bluff by asking what on earth Arts Policy could possibly mean, given that he and others present were aspiring artists in a highly individual manner, not politicians. Murmurings of agreement around the room. The blunt Middleton (see a photo of her) then turned savage on the group, snarling is not too descriptive a word … that they did not know how good they’d had it and if they wanted continued funding, they’d best forget about this disruptive heckler etc. etc.
Not the slightest artistic sense in her brain, just command and control.
Today, Steve over at NOWP reader site included this:
Short excerpts:
A few decades later, Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman analysed how corporate media organisations were using a “propaganda model of communication” to further the agendas of elite groups. ‘Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media’argued that the US media were fulfilling “a system-supportive propaganda function, by reliance on market forces, internalised assumptions, and self-censorship, and without significant overt coercion.”
[…]
Based on a citizens’ panel convened by the CCC, chief executive Emma Pinchbeck claimed the recommendations had the broad support of the public: “The citizens’ panel were often ahead of even our advice on some of the things they were willing to consider. They are interested and want to do their bit. The public really are proud of the UK’s progress on climate action – we can’t see any evidence that the public wants us to slow down.”
In my report on this post at Unherdables, I add a short YT on the same topic, HT/Toodles McGhee.