Necessary illusions is a concept developed by Noam Chomsky, a famous American linguist, philosopher and political commentator. He is very critical of the actions of the American government. Chomsky uses a lot of different examples to validate his theories, and his work is grounded in historical facts. He theorized the idea of “necessary illusions” which is fundamental to understand the cultural actions and reactions of democratic societies.

 

In popular belief, the media are meant to give free access to information. They should serve to counter-balance the government’s power, and other centers of power like corporate enterprises. By having free access to information, people can know what these centers of power do, and act if the people believe the power is wrongly used. However there is another belief amongst some elites. According to them, people must be told what to believe, or they become unruly. Rationality belongs to the cool observer, they will say, and the average person is too stupid to follow reason. The common interest eludes the public who would rather see their own interest served. It is why it must be managed by a specialized class. The “normal people” must put their faith in these elite individuals, and it is assured by relying on necessary illusions (read here propaganda) and over-simplifications provided by the media. The “herd” must work in silence and not meddle in serious matters, ironizes Chomsky. However, it would be false to assume that the political class, the more articulate class of intellectuals, is free from propaganda. They must do their work in the interest of those in power. This is the principal use of education and media that focuses on the elite.

 

The use of necessary illusions is to manufacture consent. The media achieve this goal by many means. They select the topics accordingly, ignoring those they do not want to be known; they distribute concern by emphasis, showing more interest in some news rather others (that is why some actions by enemies of the nation are seen as inhumane, while similar actions by our nation will be seen as okay).They frame the issues, showing the news in such a that they prioritize the side they want people to accept; they filter the information. The media also contain the debates under certain limits, avoiding certain topics, and they can also outright lie. Sometimes the media look the other way instead of reporting a story, and Chomsky claims it is not by ignorance. It is with these tricks that media generate the necessary illusions to keep people in line. Chomsky even says that propaganda and necessary illusions are the essence of democracy. In a totalitarian government, it is not as important to manufacture consent, as they have weapons to keep people in check. In democracy, however, where there is no way to control what people do, it is needed to control what people think, otherwise it becomes chaos. Deception is necessary unless we give the privileged groups more liberty to control. Necessary illusions serve to reduce the general public to apathy and obedience, driven away from the area of political action and discussion. People start not caring about information that goes against the ideology, as they become indoctrinated by the propaganda. In the end, no level of absurdity is too great once the state has spoken. The perception is that democracy is threatened by the organizing groups with special interest, like workers, farmers, women, youth and ethnic minorities (in short, the general public). The Carter administration in United States has been accused of serving these special interests, undermining the “national interest”. Even today, history remembers him as a very unpopular president. When the general public start grouping and making demands, this “excess of democracy” becomes a crisis that must be avoided at all cost. That is why it is necessary to control the general opinion.

 

Though Chomsky says that propaganda is a central part of democracy and explains the reasons why, he is very critical of these methods, and wants the general public to become aware of the manipulation. If we know about the “necessary illusions”, we can see the deception and avoid being tricked.