Response to the following :
Can government use of propaganda be beneficial?
Propaganda - from the Latin "to propagate" or "to sow", is an agricultural term. The visual picture is of a farmer throwing seed by hand into the plowed soil. As the seed takes root it sprouts up and brings in a harvest that is tenfold or perhaps one hundred fold larger than the amount of seed sown. In its most basic political sense it means to spread or circulate a belief or idea. Propaganda is meant to convince hearers of the veracity, utility or beneficence of its message. It seeks to in the least appease its hearers but preferably to convert the hearer to its message. Typically the term propaganda is used when the message is packaged to a large audience such as a nation or ethnic group. The hope of the propagandist is to spend a comparatively small amount of energy, finances and personnel in initially getting the message out. Once the message is broadcast it is hoped it will take on a life of its own, take root in the minds of the hearers and eventually be spread by them without any effort expended by the original disseminator.