Civic Education Exam – 0

NAME:____________________________________________________ Nº:______ CLASS: ____ DATE: ___ /___ / ______

GRADE __________ TEACHER ____________________________

Strategies and techniques for the manipulation of public opinion and society

1- Strategy of diversion: Paramount element of social control, the strategy of diversion consists in diverting the attention of
the public away from the important problems and changes decided by the political and economic elites, thanks to a
continual flood of distractions and irrelevant information. The strategy of diversion is also essential to prevent the public
interest in essential knowledge in the fields of science, economy, psychology, neurobiology and cybernetics. In this way
the attention of the public is distracted away from the true social problems and captivated by subjects of no real
importance. “Keep the public, busy, busy, busy, with no time to think; back on the farm with the other animals.” (extracted
from "Silent weapons for quiet wars”).

2- To create problems, and then to offer solutions: This method is also called "problem-reaction-solution". A problem is
created and a "solution" is envisaged to cause a certain reaction of the public, so that he asks for the measures one
wishes to make him accept. For example: to let develop urban violence, or organize bloody murders, so that the public
accepts laws that restrict freedom and civil rights. Or: to create an economic crisis to make accept like a necessary evil
the loss of social rights and the dismantling of public services. “The general rule is that there is profit in confusion; the
more confusion, the more profit. Therefore, the best approach is to create problems and then offer the solutions.”
(extracted from "Silent weapons for quiet wars”).

3- Strategy of gradualism: To make acceptable an unacceptable measure it’s effective to apply it gradually over a long
period, say for example over 10 years or more. For example radically new socio-economic conditions were imposed
during the years 1980 to 1990: mass unemployment, precariousness, flexibility, and job delocalizations. That many
changes would have caused a revolution if they had been applied in a short period of time.

4- Strategy of deferral: Another way of making people accept an unpopular decision is to present it as "painful but
necessary", by obtaining the agreement of the public in the present for an application in the future. It’s easier to accept a
future sacrifice than an immediate one because the public always tends to hope naively that "all will be better tomorrow"
and that the required sacrifice can be avoided. Lastly, that leaves time for the public to become accustomed to the idea of
the change and to accept it with resignation when the time comes. Recent example: the passage of the Euro and the loss
of monetary and economic sovereignty were accepted by the European countries in 1994-95 for an application in 2001.
Another example: multilateral agreements of the FTAA (Free Trade Agreement of the Americas) which the USA imposed
in 2001 on the countries of the American continent were reticently accepted, by conceding an application differed to 2005.

5- To address the public as children: The majority of advertising intended for the large-public use speech, arguments,
characters, and a particularly infantilizing tone, as if the spectator were a child or a mentally handicapped person. Typical
example: the countryside French TV for the passage of the euro currency (" the euro" days ;). The more one will seek to
mislead the spectator, the more one will adopt a infantilizing tone. Why? “If a person is spoken to by a TV advertiser as if
he were a twelve-year-old, then, due to suggestibility, he will, with a certain probability, respond or react to that suggestion
with the uncritical response of a twelve- year- old." (“Silent weapons for quiet wars”).

6- To call upon the emotions: To call upon the emotions is a traditional technique to short-circuit rational analysis and thus
the critical thinking of individuals. Moreover the use of the emotional register allows the manipulator to open the door to
access the unconscious and to establish in it ideas, desires, fears, impulses, or behaviors.

7- To maintain the public in ignorance: The public is unable to understand the technologies and the methods used for its
control and its slavery. "The quality of the education given to the lower class must be of the poorest sort, so that the moat
of ignorance isolating the inferior class from the superior class is and remains incomprehensible to the inferior class."
(“Silent weapons for quiet wars”).
8- To encourage the public to take pleasure in mediocrity: To encourage the public to find "cool" that which is stupid and
vulgar …

9- To replace revolt by culpability: To make the individual feel that he is the only responsible for his misfortune, because of
the insufficiency of his intelligence, skills, or his efforts. Thus, instead of revolting against the economic system, the
individual self-devaluates and feels guilty, which generates a depressive state of which one of the effects is the inhibition
of action. And without action, there is no revolution! …

10- To understand the individuals better than themselves: During the last 50 years, the fast progress of science dug a
growing gap between the knowledge of the public and the knowledge of the ruling elites. Thanks to biology, neurobiology,
and applied psychology, the "system" achieved an advanced knowledge of the human being, both physically and
psychologically. The system now understands the average individual better than he knows itself. That means that, in the
majority of the cases, the system holds a greater control on the individuals than the individuals themselves.

Adapted and translated from:

1-http://www.syti.net/Manipulations.html
2-http://www.syti.net/GB/SilentWeaponsGB.html

Questions

1- Comment the sentence “Keep the public, busy, busy, busy, with no time to think; back on the farm with the other
animals.”

2- Comment the sentence “The general rule is that there is profit in confusion; the more confusion, the more profit.
Therefore, the best approach is to create problems and then offer the solutions.”

3- Comment the sentence "The quality of the education given to the lower class must be of the poorest sort, so that the
moat of ignorance isolating the inferior class from the superior class is and remains incomprehensible to the inferior
class."

4- Comment the sentence "If a person is spoken to by a TV advertiser as if he were a twelve-year-old, then, due to
suggestibility, he will, with a certain probability, respond or react to that suggestion with the uncritical response of a
twelve-year-old."

5- Comment the affirmation “…, the system holds a greater control on the individuals than the individuals themselves.”
 Civic Education Exam – 1

NAME:____________________________________________________ Nº:______ CLASS: ____ DATE: ___ /___ / ______

GRADE __________ TEACHER ____________________________

Critical Thinking – Part 1

Critical thinking? We all think, we all have the capacity (and in general the habit) to criticize. Therefore we all
think critically, right? WRONG… Firstly, what is critical thinking? A simple form to describe it is the logical and careful
analysis of the information we receive, so as to base our actions and beliefs in solid foundations, i.e., in proven facts.
For example scientists have to use critical thinking constantly because scientific theories have to be rigorously
tested to be accepted by the scientific community (the other scientists of the entire world). You already do this, right? In
other words, you never:

Followed “common knowledge” (or "everybody knows that… ") ?

Believed rumours ?

Followed your "intuition" without questioning it ?

Followed an "authority" (politic, religious, etc.) without questioning it ?

Flipped a coin to make a decision ?

Asked the advice of a fortune-teller ?

Avoided thinking when taking a decision ?

The majority of people don’t use critical thinking. Sometimes non critical thinking methods (“common
knowledge”, “intuition”, etc.) work in some situations of our daily life. However, in many cases they lead to an
abandonment of your personal power and your responsibility to decide what to do, in what to believe, as to live. All
involve considerable risks if not used moderately. What is the alternative?

Think for yourself, think critically!

An excellent description of critical thinking is: " [Critical thinking]… is the analysis and the test of the information
we receive, to discover if it corresponds to reality or not. It is a habit and a mental power. It is a basic condition for the
good of the society that men and women are trained in it. It is our only guarantee against the illusions, the lies,
superstition and the incomprehension of ourselves and the world around us. Our education is good in the measure that
it produces a developed critical capacity… The education in critical thinking is the only education of which it can truly be
said that it forms good citizens."

Translated and adapted from http://www.scribd.com/doc/13155593/Fichas-de-Trabalho-de-Formacao-Civica

There are two questions that we must always ask if we want to start thinking critically:

1. Why do I believe this is real?

2. What proof do I have that this is real ?

 Questions

1. What is critical thinking?

2. Why is critical thinking so important for scientists?

3. Why isn’t critical thinking used by most people?

4. What are the main dangers of not using critical thinking?

5. Give examples of situations of your daily life where you were harmed because you didn’t use critical thinking.

6. Comment the sentence “[critical thinking]… is our only guarantee against the illusions, the lies, superstitions and the
incomprehension of us and the world around us”.

7. Comment the sentence “The education in critical thinking is the only education of which it can truly be said that it
forms good citizens”.

8. What are the two questions that we must always ask if we want to think critically?
 Civic Education Exam – 2

NAME:____________________________________________________ Nº:______ CLASS: ____ DATE: ___ /___ / ______

GRADE __________ TEACHER ____________________________

Critical Thinking – Part 2

1. When you are doing research for a school work you should…

Select true (T) or false (F):

A- Use diverse sources of information (such as books, encyclopaedias, magazines, newspapers, etc.) and also
the Internet and compare the information collected in the diverse sources
B - Avoid the Internet because it does not have reliable information
C - Always indicate all the sources of information you used so that your teacher can check their reliability
D - Use only one source of information

2. When you listen to the speech of a politician you should…

Select the only true statement with an X:

A- Assume the politician is telling the truth and not worry to check the validity of his/hers statements
B- Use diverse sources of information (books, encyclopaedias, magazines, newspapers, etc.) and also the
Internet and compare the information collected in those sources to check the validity of the politician’s
statements
C - Not believe the politician because his/hers political ideology is different from yours
D - Believe the politician if he/she is from your political party

3. The most important mass media organizations (televisions, newspapers, etc.) belong to a small number of
corporations with considerable financial power 1. This “concentration” of the mass media in “few hands” can be
extremely dangerous for critical thinking because it reduces freedom and quality of information.
Of all the mass media only the Internet cannot (yet), except in some non democratic countries, be easily controlled
by a small number of individuals or organizations. Therefore some say that “the Internet is the last source of truly free
information”.
1-http://www.mediachannel.org/ownership/front.shtml

3.1 What are the main risks for critical thinking of the “concentration” of mass media in “few hands”?

3.2 Comment the sentence “The Internet is the last source of truly free information”.
4. Psychologists have observed that human beings, when faced with highly stressful situations (economical crisis,
terrorist attacks, wars, crimes, etc.), almost always respond in an emotional way instead of using critical thinking.
Therefore it is in situations of crisis and uncertainty that people are more easily influenced.
This weakness can be easily exploited, for example by governments of nondemocratic countries, to provoke
certain behaviours in the population. Therefore some say that “It is possible to force a human being to make the most
stupid decisions by exposing them to the adequate crisis”.
For example it is believed that the German dictator A.Hitler used a manipulation technique based on this
principle (“MANUFACTURED” CRISIS → WEAKENED CRITICAL THINKING → LOSS OF FREEDOMS OF
CITIZENS) to increase his political power:

“One well known case is the fire of the German parliament (Reichstag) that occurred in 27 of February of
1933,…The police arrested in the Reichstag a young Dutch anarchist, Van den Lubbe, and declared that the criminal
fire was provoked by the Communists. Then, alleging the threat of a pretense communist blow, Hitler ordered to arrest
twenty thousand people in concentration camps and annulled the mandate of the communist members of the
parliament.
In reality, it is highly probable that the Nazis themselves provoked the fire, using an underground passage that
connected the residence of Goering to the Reichstag.”

Translated and adapted from http://www.scribd.com/doc/13155593/Fichas-de-Trabalho-de-Formacao-Civica

A great part of the German public believed in Hitler and soon was approved the Law of Authority that gave Hitler
dictatorial powers. In the general elections some days later, the national-socialists (the political party of Hitler) had
consolidated their influence in the German government.

4.1 Comment the sentence “It is possible to force a human being to make the most stupid decisions by exposing them
to the adequate crisis”.

4.2 What “manufactured” crisis Hitler used as an excuse to increase his power over the German people?
 Civic Education Exam – 3

NAME:____________________________________________________ Nº:______ CLASS: ____ DATE: ___ /___ / ______

GRADE __________ TEACHER ____________________________

The dangers of technology for the privacy and freedom of citizens

Have you ever stopped to think about the numerous places where your personal data is stored? And that most
of the time the data was supplied by you? Think (critically)! Here are some examples: school, job, credit cards, and of
course the hundreds of Internet sites where we place our data, from social networking sites (such as myface, facebook,
etc.) to the accounts that we have in e-mails, etc.

What this means is that, voluntarily, we are giving data that is ours alone, opening our lives and our privacy to
strangers. Who didn’t receive e-mails from unknown people? And how did they found our e-mail address? It is clearly
through some database that was formed from our personal information.

But perhaps the biggest danger isn’t the Internet! Other technology that we use in our daily life such as cell
phones, GPS, chips, etc., can be (badly) used, without our knowledge, to store our personal data!

But without a doubt the biggest danger of technology for the privacy and freedom of
citizens would be the implantation of small chips in people (it’s already done in pets and
“special” groups of people such as prisoners) to keep them constantly watched and
controlled! For example non democratic governments could implant chips in the body of their
opponents to control all their moves. Or determine that, at birth, all babies be forced to use
the chip, in order to be able to watch the movements of all the people they are interested in
for some reason!

Figure 1: Implantable chip http://www.rfida.com/weblog/labels/human-implant.htm

We cannot forget that the governments of non democratic countries use “manufactured” crises (do you
remember when we studied the “manufactured” crises?), for example, terrorist attacks and crimes, as “excuses” to
increase the monitoring and the control on the citizens! The German dictator A.Hitler did that in 1933. Therefore these
governments could create crises (for example, terrorist attacks or child abductions) to convince the people the chip is
necessary and to make its use mandatory under the excuse that it would increase the “security” of citizens.

Once placed in the interior of the body the chips would be very hard to remove (by the people in which they had
been implanted) and a dictator could exert a practically absolute control on the citizens. We would thus have a
nightmare scenario: a society where the citizens are totally controlled and do not have the possibility of rebelling!

The moment we let these chips to be placed on us will be the moment we will cease to be free citizens
and start being slaves.

With the advance of the technology we were never so close to “Big Brother” *, the one that in 1984 #, in the book
written by George Orwell, looks permanently not for us, but on us. The technology needed to totally control us is not yet
fully in place. But it is rapidly arriving and a step in this direction is the monitoring cameras that some cities of the world
are adopting.

We see more and more cameras watching us, either inside shopping centers or in the streets. Everything
supposedly to let us feel more safe in a world where the perception of violence is always increasing. We are told that to
control the violence and uncertainty it is necessary that we must be watched.
 If things keep going this way it won’t take long before we are living in a real “Big Brother”. And it could
come under the excuse that it is necessary to reduce the violence.

Is this really what we want? Is it true that it is necessary to sacrifice our freedom for “security”? Will we be
forced to give up, more and more, of our privacy and liberty until we lose it all? Are we constructing a wall around us?
We do not know the answers. But to live in a police state cannot be our ideal of life.

Translated and adapted from http://www.scribd.com/doc/13155593/Fichas-de-Trabalho-de-Formacao-Civica

*Big Brother – Is a fictional character in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, the enigmatic dictator of Oceania, a totalitarian state
taken to its utmost logical consequence - where the ruling elite ('the Party') wield total power for its own sake over the inhabitants. In the society
that Orwell describes, everyone is under complete surveillance by the authorities, mainly by telescreens. The people are constantly reminded of
this by the phrase "Big Brother is watching you", which is the core "truth" of the propaganda & system in this state. Since the publication of
Nineteen Eighty-Four, the phrase "Big Brother" has entered general usage, to describe any overly-inquisitive or overly-controlling authority figure
or attempts by government to increase surveillance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Brother_%28Nineteen_Eighty-Four%29

Figure 2: Depiction of the enigmatic dictator of Oceania in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four with the propaganda phrase "Big Brother
is watching you".

# 1984 - It’s the title of a book written by George Orwell (real name Eric Arthur Blair) that portrays a society totally controlled by the State
(totalitarian society). Some say that the title comes from the inversion of the two last digits of the year when the book
was written, 1948 (48-84).
This book portrays a society where the State is present in everything, having for example the capacity to torture
the people and to use the lies of propaganda & with the goal to keep its power on the citizens. 1.

1- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four

Figure 3: George Orwell

& Propaganda - Propaganda is the dissemination of information aimed at influencing the opinions or behaviours of large numbers of people.
As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense presents information in order to influence its audience.
Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or gives loaded messages in order to
produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the attitude toward the
subject in the target audience to further a political agenda 2.
2- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda
 Questions

1.Give examples of technology you use in your daily life that can be used to store your personal data.

2. What is the biggest danger of technology for the privacy and freedom of citizens?

3. What is “Big Brother”?

4. Who wrote “1984”? What is portrayed in this book?

5. What is a totalitarian society?

6. Comment the sentence “If things keep going this way it won’t take long before we are living in a real “Big Brother”.
And it will probably come under the excuse that it is necessary to reduce the violence".
7. Comment the sentence “The moment we let these chips be placed on us will be the moment we will cease to be free
citizens and start being slaves”.

8. Comment the sentence “…We are walking towards a police state, a hell where we will be watched and controlled, 24
hours per day, 365 days per year”.
 Civic Education Exam – 4

NAME:____________________________________________________ Nº:______ CLASS: ____ DATE: ___ /___ / ______

GRADE __________ TEACHER ____________________________

General questions

1. Read the following text carefully:

“Most people can't think, most of the remainder won't think, the small fraction who does think mostly can't do it very well.
The extremely tiny fraction who think regularly, accurately, creatively, and without self-delusion- in the long run, these
are the only people who count.”
Robert Heinlein

1.1 Comment the text based in what you have learned about critical thinking.

1.2 In what group of people you include yourself? Justify.

1.3 The German dictator A. Hitler once said:

“How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don't think.”

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/adolf_hitler.html

Comment the phrase based in what you have learned about critical thinking.
2. In the previous exam propaganda was defined as: “… communication aimed at influencing the attitude of a
community toward some cause or position. As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda in its most
basic sense, presents information primarily to influence an audience. Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus
lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or uses loaded messages to produce an emotional rather than
rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the attitude toward the subject in the
target audience to further a political agenda.”
The propagandist seeks to change the way people understand an issue or situation for the purpose of changing
their actions and expectations in ways that are desirable to the interest group.
What sets propaganda apart from other forms of advocacy is the willingness of the propagandist to change
people's understanding through deception and confusion rather than persuasion and understanding. The leaders of an
organization know the information to be one sided or untrue, but this may not be true for the rank and file members who
help to disseminate the propaganda. Below are a number of techniques for generating propaganda

Ad hominem: A Latin phrase that has come to mean attacking your opponent, as opposed to attacking their arguments.

Ad nauseam: This argument approach uses tireless repetition of an idea. An idea, especially a simple slogan, that is
repeated enough times, may begin to be taken as the truth. This approach works best when media sources are limited
and controlled by the propagator.

Appeal to authority: Appeals to authority cite prominent figures to support a position, idea, argument, or course of action.

Appeal to fear: Appeals to fear seek to build support by instilling anxieties and panic in the general population, for
example, Joseph Goebbels exploited Theodore Kaufman's Germany
Must Perish! to claim that the Allies sought the extermination of the
German people.

Figure 4: Nazi propaganda based in the appeal to fear. The opponents of the Nazi
regime led by A. Hitler (represented by their symbols in the interior of the image
obtained in the microscope - white circle) are compared to disease carrying microbes.

“Star of David” - symbol of Jewish identity. Remember that A. Hitler and the
Nazis attempted to exterminate the Jewish people.

Appeal to prejudice: Using loaded or emotive terms to attach value or

moral goodness to believing the proposition.

Bandwagon: Bandwagon and "inevitable-victory" appeals attempt to persuade the target audience to join in and take the
course of action that "everyone else is taking."

Inevitable victory: invites those not already on the bandwagon to join those already on the road to certain victory. Those
already or at least partially on the bandwagon are reassured that staying aboard is their best course of action.

Join the crowd: This technique reinforces people's natural desire to be on the winning side. This technique is used to
convince the audience that a program is an expression of an irresistible mass movement and that it is in their best
interest to join.

Glittering Generalities: Glittering generalities are intensely emotionally appealing words so closely associated with highly
valued concepts and beliefs that they carry conviction without supporting information or reason. They appeal to such
emotions as love of country, home; desire for peace, freedom, glory, honor, etc. They ask for approval without
examination of the reason. Though the words and phrases are vague and suggest different things to different people,
their connotation is always favorable: "The concepts and programs of the propagandist are always good, desirable,
virtuous." Generalities may gain or lose effectiveness with changes in conditions. They must, therefore, be responsive to
current conditions. Phrases which called up pleasant associations at one time may evoke unpleasant or unfavorable
connotations at another, particularly if their frame of reference has been altered.

Vagueness: Generalities are deliberately vague so that the audience may supply its own interpretations. The intention is
to move the audience by use of undefined phrases, without analyzing their validity or attempting to determine their
reasonableness or application.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda
"Appendix I: PSYOP Techniques" from "Psychological Operations Field Manual No.33-1" published by Headquarters; Department of the Army,
in Washington DC, on 31 August 1979

2.1 What is propaganda?

2.2 Explain using your own words two techniques for generating propaganda.
2.3 The techniques of propaganda are constantly used in political campaigns. For example in the Obama presidential
campaign certain key slogans (A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a political, commercial, religious and
other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose 1) were used such as: YES WE CAN; CHANGE WE CAN
BELIEVE IN. What propaganda techniques were used in those slogans? Justify.
1-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slogan

2.4 “Children, as might be expected, are highly susceptible to propaganda. They are ignorant of the world and its ways,
and therefore completely unsuspecting. Their critical faculties are undeveloped. The youngest of them have not yet
reached the age of reason and the older ones lack the experience on which their new-found rationality can effectively
work.”

http://www.huxley.net/bnw-revisited/index.html#thearts

2.4.1 Why are children more susceptible to propaganda?

2.4.2 Give examples from your daily life where you were influenced by propaganda.
2.5 In his important book “Propaganda” (1928) Edward Bernays wrote:

“We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard
of.”
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edward_Bernays

This sentence is still accurate despite being written more than 80 years ago.

2.5.1 Comment the sentence based in what you have learned about propaganda.

2.5.2 Who are the “…men we have never heard of.”?

3. Recently there has been an increase in the commercial and governmental use of RFID (Radio Frequency
Identification) technology 1:

“An RFID system involves the communication of digital data from an RFID chip or tag to a reader through radio waves. It is similar to a
Universal Product Code (UPC) system in which a barcode holds information that can be read by an infrared scan. Unlike the barcode,
RFID differs in its method of transmission and therefore does not require a direct line of sight. Although the technology is still fairly new,
its future uses could be extremely far-reaching. RFID systems are already being employed in various government and commercial
contexts to track people and their movements, farm animals, and commercial products as they make their way from manufacturer to
consumer.”
1-http://www.bu.edu/law/central/jd/organizations/journals/bulr/volume86n2/documents/DALALv2.pdf

3.1 What is your opinion on this technology?

3.2 Indicate some of the possible privacy risks (if u think they exist) involved in the use of this technology.

4. Read carefully the following text excerpted from George Orwell’s “1984”.

“All the citizens or at least all the citizens important enough to be watched could be kept 24 hours a day under the watch
of the police and subject to the sound of the official propaganda.” “… The possibility to impose complete obedience to
the will of the State and the complete uniformity of opinion of all people was now possible.”

4.1 Comment the text.

 4.2 Do you consider that there is the real danger of your country (and the world) transforming into a society similar to
the one described in “1984”? Justify.

4.3 What would u you do if you were forced to live in a society similar to the described in the book “1984”?

5. Read carefully the following text excerpted from Aldous Huxley`s “Brave New World Revisited”.

“Only the vigilant can maintain their liberties, and only those who are constantly and intelligently on the spot
can hope to govern themselves effectively by democratic procedures. A society, most of whose members
spend a great part of their time, […], in the irrelevant other worlds of sport and soap opera, […], will find it hard
to resist the encroachments of those who would manipulate and control it.”
http://www.huxley.net/bnw-revisited/index.html#propdem

Comment the text excerpt.

 Civic Education Exam – 5

NAME:____________________________________________________ Nº:______ CLASS: ____ DATE: ___ /___ / ______

GRADE __________ TEACHER ____________________________

Translated and adapted from http://www.scribd.com/doc/13155593/Fichas-de-Trabalho-de-Formacao-Civica

Introduction
To protect your rights as a citizen you have to understand all the dangers you are exposed to. As you saw in the
previous exams in today’s society exist innumerable threats to our individual rights and liberties, many of them disguised
in ways that can seem, at first glance, beneficial. It is the case, for example, of many technological applications that
under the excuse of “making our life easier” can be used to limit our rights.
If you understand the methods used by non democratic governments to control their citizens you will be better
prepared for the challenges you’ll face in the future as an adult fully responsible for defending your rights.

The dictator’s game

In this exam you will imagine yourself to be a dictator (of an imaginary country) with almost limitless powers
whose only goal is to keep its power over citizens. In this exam you will learn some of the main methods that can be
used by the governments of non democratic countries to control people.

1. Assume that you intend to place chips in the populations to keep them controlled and totally incapable of
rebelling. However most of the people are not in accordance with this idea because they think it’s a dangerous invasion
of their privacy.
What would you do, as a dictator, to reach this goal? Remember all the mass media (televisions, newspapers,
radio, etc.) are under your control.

Some of the methods you could use:

A- Command the security forces under my control to, secretly, orchestrate a wave of child abductions. The
televisions would then make an intense and emotional coverage of the events. This would create a climate of fear and
uncertainty in the people, especially in the parents, who would start to accept the idea of the implantation of chips in
children.
The mothers are particularly susceptible to this method because they have a natural tendency to place the
“security” of their children above other considerations. Therefore this manipulation technique is particularly dangerous
for the freedom of citizens.

B - Command the security forces under my control to, secretly, orchestrate a wave of terrorist attacks. The
televisions would then make an intense and emotional coverage of the events. This would create a climate of fear and
uncertainty in the people who would start to accept the idea of the implantation of chips to protect its “security”.

C- Secretly unleash a virus on the population. The televisions would then make an intense and emotional
coverage of the events. This would create a climate of fear and uncertainty in the people, who would be forced to accept
a mandatory vaccination program. In the vaccine you (the dictator) could put a miniaturised chip (e.g. nanochip).
Therefore the chip could be implanted without the people knowing it.
Commentary: The methods 1-A, 1-B and 1-C are based on the creation of crisis, remember when we studied the
“manufactured crisis” (as the Reichstag fire in 1933)? Throughout history the dictators (A. Hitler for example) created
crisis to increase their power. We can say that the dictators create the “problem” (“the manufactured” crisis) that
generates a (expected) emotional reaction of the populations (associated to the weakening of critical thinking) and
finally offer the “solution” that always limits the citizens rights and increases the power of the dictator.

PROBLEM
REACTION
SOLUTION

D- Suggest other possible measures …

 2. Assume that you intend to keep the population of your imaginary country unaware of the true reasons that
keep you in power. What would you do, as a dictator, to reach this goal?

Some of the methods you could use:

A - Offer innumerable distractions to the population. For example sports and low-level entertainment that would
be repeatedly transmitted and constantly debated in the mass media.

B - Stimulate sporting competitions of the most various kinds, “rock” music concerts, etc. to entertain youth and
keep them away from the serious discussion of the problems of the country.

C- Suggest other possible measures …

 3. Assume that you intend to keep the population incapable of thinking critically.

Some of the methods you could use:

A- Lower the standards of education (remember all the education is provided by State, i.e., the dictator). Be
very careful about the subjects taught in School. In special pay a bigger attention to what is taught in subjects such
History and Philosophy because the learning of the more “technical” subjects (Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, etc.) is
politically neutral.

B- Increase the specialization of education so that students don’t have a clear understanding of the workings of
the political and economic system. In this way the population will be unable to oppose the policies of the State because
they understand nothing of politics and economy. Be sure to maintain the people in ignorance about the process
of money creation. The masses will not accept that the money they work hard for is created out of nothing by
private banks for their own profit and, for that reason, they will remain enslaved by debt 1,2 .

1- video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-515319560256183936
2- video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-515319560256183936

C- Exert a severe control on teachers so as to eliminate the possibility to educate youth in critical thinking. In
this way students become accustomed not to question authority and to conform to the imposed social order. Remember
that who controls the young controls the future!

D- Suggests other possible measures …

4. Assume that you intend to destroy the individuality of the population to create a “hive mind” in accordance with your
goals as a dictator.

Some of the methods you could use:

A- Foment group work in detriment of individual work. In this way the population learns “to sacrifice” its
individual opinions for the opinion of the group that is created by the mass medias that I (the dictator) control.

B - Stimulate the formation of youth movements controlled by the State. In this way the population will be
accustomed, from an early age, to conform socially and work toward the interests of the State (i.e., of the dictator). For
example in Nazi Germany the Hitler Youth and in the former Soviet Union the Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet
Union were the most important mass youth movements 1,2.

1-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler_Youth
2-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Pioneer_organization_of_the_Soviet_Union

Figure 5: Hitler Youth recruitment poster. The wording translates to: "Youth serves the
leader. All ten year-olds into the Hitler Youth."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler_Youth

C - Suggests other possible measures …

 5. Assume that you intend to keep all citizens under constant monitoring without their knowledge.

One of the methods that you could use would be…

A- Force the population to buy and sell using only “electronic” money, for example using “chips” or electronic
cards (e.g. credit cards) instead of “physical” money that is still frequently used nowadays (under the form of notes of
paper and metal coins).
In this way (the dictator) could access the personal data of the population, for example its interests, cultural
level, political preferences, etc., because the details of each purchase could be stored in a computerized database (Do
you remember when we mentioned, in exam 3, the personal databases that are created without our knowledge?).
Knowing these personal data it would be possible to make a detailed profile of each person and thus (the dictator) could
identify possible opponents and increase his power.

Commentary: The population could be forced to use “electronic” money for example with the excuse that it
would be more “safe” and the payments would become easier and faster. If the population in general did not accept this
explanation the dictator could compel the children to make the payments with “electronic” money in the Schools with the
excuse that is a “modern” and “more efficient” method “and that “physical” money is something “outdated” associated to
the older generations. Remember once again that who controls the young controls the future!
On the other hand the mandatory use of “electronic” money could also be used as an excuse to force
all people to use a “chip” in their body! Those who did not use the “chip” could not buy or sell and would finish
as outcasts excluded from the totalitarian society. To survive they would have to find a way to live by their own
means (or die of hunger)!

Suggests other possible measures …