I recently came across an intriguing documentary series produced by the BBC and available on YouTube. Combining psychology, public relations theory and post-war history, “The Century of the Self,” explores many fascinating themes. I was particularly interested in the second episode, “The Engineering of Consent.”

“The programme explores how those in power in post-war America used Freud’s ideas about the unconscious mind to try and control the masses. Politicians and planners came to believe Freud’s underlying premise – that deep within all human beings were dangerous and irrational desires and fears. They were convinced that it was the unleashing of these instincts that had led to the barbarism of Nazi Germany. To stop it ever happening again they set out to find ways to control this hidden enemy within the human mind. ”

Source here.