Jacques Ellul’s concept of propaganda: a critical analysis

The present article is devoted to a critical analysis of the concept of propaganda by the prominent French scientist Jacques Ellul, who became widely known in the Russian sociological discourse due to the word combination “sociological propaganda” incorrectly attributed to him, which in fact is an incorrectly constructed concept and in the author's original interpretation sounds like “social propaganda”. In this regard, the main goal of this article is to accurately and correctly convey the author's original views on the phenomenon of propaganda, but to systematize them in such a way that in their sum they form an integral concept of propaganda, which could find a worthy place in further sociological and political science analysis of related phenomena. For this purpose, the author, relying on the materials presented in the first chapters of J. Ellul’s work, tries to answer a group of questions. These include: what does J. Ellul understand by the phenomenon of propaganda in the most general sense? What methodological difficulties are associated with the scientific study of this phenomenon? Who is the object and who are the subjects of propaganda influence? What exactly are the tools and mechanisms that trigger the action of propaganda? What are its goals? According to J. Ellul, the author emphasizes, propaganda is a manipulation aimed at changing the worldview, indoctrination of alien ideas, indoctrination of other ideas about a particular event or about the world order as a whole, and then – to push it to action. Consequently, the most important property and result of propaganda is the separation of the thought process from action and deeds: “…one performed action makes the propaganda influence irreversible. The one who performs an act under the influence of propaganda cannot go back and become the same person”. The author considers the questions about the basis of propaganda influence to be especially significant in the concept of J. Ellul. The author considers the questions about the basis and content of propaganda, the problem of consistency in the organization of the propaganda process, its effectiveness. Noteworthy are the typologization and classification of types and varieties of propaganda according to J. Ellul, his questions about the truthfulness and scientificity of propaganda. A detailed analysis of the main provisions of the concept of J. Ellul allowed the author to substantiate. Ellul allowed the author to justify a number of critical conclusions, including excessive psychologization of the propaganda process, the inappropriateness of the thesis about the secondary nature of ideology in relation to propaganda, which functions at the practical level of its expression, as well as excessive fetishization of propaganda, which levels the influence of traditional social institutions and practices on the individual.