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To the ideal of high consumption and the downgrading of spiritual values corresponds a conception of injustice that centers exclusively on the problem of consumption and equality in consumption cannot be achieved except by violence.

Jacques Ellul

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Jacques Ellul
Age: 82 †
Born: 1912
Born: January 6
Died: 1994
Died: May 19
French Resistance Fighter
Philosopher
Sociologist
Theologian
University Teacher
Writer
Bordèu
Cannot
Equality
Corresponds
Problem
Injustice
Centers
Ideals
Exclusively
Except
Consumerism
Violence
Consumption
High
Conception
Values
Achieved
Spiritual
Ideal
Downgrading

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Because of the myth of progress, it is much easier to sell a man an electric razor than a straight-edged one.
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Am I a pessimist? Not at all. I am convinced that the history of the human race, no matter how tragic, will ultimately lead to the Kingdom of God. I am convinced that all the works of humankind will be reintegrated in the work of God, and that each of us, no matter how sinful, will ultimately be saved.
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It is the emergence of mass media which makes possible the use of propaganda techniques on a societal scale.
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Mass media provides the essential link between the individual and the demands of the technological society.
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Prayer is not a discourse. It is a form of life, the life with God. That is why it is not confined to the moment of verbal statement.
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The Holy Spirit alone can do this, the Holy Spirit alone can establish this link with one's neighbor.
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The fact of knowing how to read is nothing, the whole point is knowing what to read.
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Human life as a whole is not inundated by technique. It has room for activities that are not rationally or systematically ordered. But the collision between spontaneous activities and technique is catastrophic for the spontaneous activities.
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The most favorable moment to seize a man and influence him is when he is alone in the mass. It is at this point that propaganda can be most effective.
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Almost always, it is the conviction that 'I am right' or 'my cause is the cause of justice' that triggers violence. That is, ...the moment propaganda does its work, violence is unleashed. And violence can be reduced by countering this propaganda.
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Our civilization is first and foremost a civilization of means in the reality of modern life, the means, it would seem, are more important than the ends.
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There are different forms of anarchy and different currents in it. I must, first say very simply what anarchy I have in view. By anarchy I mean first an absolute rejection of violence.
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Modern technology has become a total phenomenon for civilization, the defining force of a new social order in which efficiency is no longer an option but a necessity imposed on all human activity.
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No technique is possible when men are free. Technique requires predictability and, no less, exactness of prediction. It is necessary, then, that technique prevail over the human being.
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Propaganda does not aim to elevate man, but to make him serve.
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Propaganda begins when dialogue ends.
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I describe a world with no exit, convinced that God accompanies man throughout his history.
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The propagandist must utilize all of the technical means at his disposal - the press, radio, TV, movies, posters, meetings, door-to-door canvassing...There is no propaganda as long as one makes use, in a sporadic fashion and at random, of a newspaper article here, a poster or radio program there.
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The individual who is the servant of technique must be completely unconscious of himself.
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