Crystallizing Public Opinion

Crystallizing Public Opinion by Edward L. Bernays is an exposition of the importance and functions of the new profession of "public relations counsel" or press agent, as he is most commonly known, together with an analysis of the character and origins of public opinion, the factors that make up the individual mind and the group mind, and a description of the technique and methods which should guide those whose business it is consciously to mold public opinion. The book closes with a section on ethical relations, which the author concludes by quoting from Professor von Ferdinand Tonnier that "the future of public opinion is the future of civilization. . .. It is . . . certain that it is more and more being influenced, changed, stirred by impulses from below. The duty of the higher strata of society-the cultivated, the learned, the expert, the intellectual-is therefore clear. They must inject moral and spiritual motives into public opinion. Public opinion must become public conscience." And to this the author adds the comment that "It is in the creation of a public conscience that the counsel on public relations is destined, I believe, to fulfill his highest usefulness to the society in which he lives." — The American Political Science Review, Vol. 18, No. 3.


What is public opinion? Whatever it is, it is often so vague, chameleonic, and evanescent that attempts to formulate it are in vain. But, in general, public opinion may be defined as the aggregate of individual judgments — the conclusions, sometimes uniform, but frequently conflicting — of the men and women constituting society or any one of its various groups. 

The ever-increasing importance of public opinion in our modern world has created a new profession—"counsel on public relations." This is a new phrase to describe an activity that is old. In his book, Crystallizing Public Opinion, Mr. Edward L. Bernays, a professor in New York University, sets forth the scope and functions of the profession. The work of the counsel on public relations is of growing importance, he points out, because of three facts : The tendency of small organizations to group themselves in one large organization of a semi-public nature, the increased willingness of the public to make its voice beard in the conduct of affairs, and the keen competition in modern methods of selling. The function of the public relations counsel is, therefore, "somewhat like the business of the attorney — to advise his client and to litigate his causes for him." In the motivation of public judgments, he must begin with the established point of view which has its foundations in individual notions or "stereotypes." In the technique of his work, he is aided, in spite of the highly heterogeneous nature of society, by the interlapping of innumerable groups which make possible widespread appeals. In the ethical relations involved, certain it is that the counsel on public relations, as purveyor and creator of news, must conform to the highest moral and technical requirements.

Thus, in his treatment of the scope and functions of the newly recognized profession — public relations counsel; in his analysis of group psychology underlying the subject; in his description of the technique and methods employed; and in his portrayal of the ethical issues involved, Mr. Bernays has made a contribution to the better understanding of public opinion. He has indicated clearly what is the duty of those who are learned and expert in discovering, interpreting, and creating the public will. In the words of Professor Tonnies, cited by Mr. Bernays, "They must inject moral and spiritual motives into public opinion. Public opinion must become public conscience."  — Advocate of Peace through Justice, Vol. 86, No. 7.


This is an attempt of a practical publicist to interpret problems of publicity in terms of Trotter’s theory of the herd instinct. — American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 30, No. 6.