The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society.

This theory in its own was so powerful that it became a weapon of its own during the cold war. " Yet he recognized the potential danger in so grand a scheme and in "This Business of Propaganda" (1928) as elsewhere sounded the great caveat to his vision: a public relations counsel "must never accept a retainer or assume a position which puts his duty to the groups he represents above his duty to society.

Adam Curtis's award-winning 2002 documentary for the BBC The Century of the Self pinpoints Bernays as the originator of modern public relations and Bernays was named one of the 100 most influential Americans of the 20th century by Life magazine. Edward Louis Bernays (November 22 1891 – March 9 1995) was an Austrian-American pioneer in the field of public relations and propaganda referred to in his obituary as "the father of public relations".