Psychological WarfareLinebarger, Paul Myron Anthony
History
Psychological Warfare
Linebarger, Paul Myron Anthony
Psychological warfare
Psychological warfare in the broad sense, consists of the application of
parts of the science called psychology to the conduct of war; in the
narrow sense, psychological warfare comprises the use of propaganda
against an enemy, together with such military operational measures as
may supplement the propaganda. Propaganda may be described, in turn, as
organized persuasion by non-violent means. War itself may be considered
to be, among other things, a violent form of persuasion. Thus if an
American fire-raid burns up a Japanese city, the burning is calculated
to dissuade the Japanese from further warfare by denying the Japanese
further physical means of war and by simultaneously hurting them enough
to cause surrender. If, after the fire-raid, we drop leaflets telling
them to surrender, the propaganda can be considered an extension of
persuasion--less violent this time, and usually less effective, but
nevertheless an integral part of the single process of making the enemy
stop fighting.
Neither warfare nor psychology is a new subject. Each is as old as man.
Warfare, being the more practical and plain subject, has a far older
written history. This is especially the case since much of what is now
called psychology was formerly studied under the heading of religion,
ethics, literature, politics, or medicine. Modern psychological warfare
has become self-conscious in using modern scientific psychology as a
tool.
In World War II the enemies of the United States were more fanatical
than the people and leaders of the United States. The consequence was
that the Americans could use and apply any expedient psychological
weapon which either science or our version of common sense provided. We
did not have to square it with Emperor myths, the Führer principle or
some other rigid, fanatical philosophy. The enemy enjoyed the positive
advantage of having an indoctrinated army and people; we enjoyed the
countervailing advantage of having skeptical people, with no inward
theology that hampered our propaganda operations. It is no negligible
matter to be able to use the latest findings of psychological science in
a swift, bold manner. The scientific character of our psychology puts us
ahead of opponents wrapped up in dogmatism who must check their
propaganda against such articles of faith as Aryan racialism or the
Hegelian philosophy of history.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account