Mass consciousness: from industrial to information society

Abstract

In the current geopolitical situation, those issues that social philosophers and political scientists were discussing throughout the 20th century and which, in a certain sense, became a commonplace, a kind of common knowledge, which is studied in higher educational institutions and which does not represent any novelty, have become relevant. It is referred to mass consciousness, the laws that govern it, and what represents the basis of modern mass culture. The basics of these laws are known to almost all people with a secondary education. Everyone admits that the mass media control mass consciousness, and the media owners manipulate it to their advantage. It would seem that this knowledge equips modern person with the understanding that these processes must be resisted. However, in practice, everything is different. The author shows that mass consciousness is formed in a similar way and through similar mechanisms both in the industrial and information societies.