--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are governed, our minds are molded…" description: "\"We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of.\" — Edward Bernays" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b97/edward-bernays-14230_heard_we-are-governed-our-minds-are-molded-our_966988.png" --- # We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed… ![“We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of.” quote by Edward Bernays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b97/edward-bernays-14230_heard_we-are-governed-our-minds-are-molded-our_966988.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b97/edward-bernays-14230_heard_we-are-governed-our-minds-are-molded-our_966988.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b97/edward-bernays-14230_heard_we-are-governed-our-minds-are-molded-our_966988.png) > “We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of.” [Edward Bernays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bernays/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mass media and elite influence shape public opinion and personal preferences without most people realizing it. **In simple terms:** Our thoughts and tastes are subtly controlled by unseen powers. Key Takeaway Question who influences your choices. Themes media influence psychology power consumerism propaganda Mood skeptical reflective Type analytical critical When to use this quote - advertising - political campaigns - brand loyalty - social media feeds - public policy Key Concepts social engineering agenda setting cult of personality Questions to Reflect On - Who are the unseen voices shaping your preferences? - How can you diversify your information sources? A Different Perspective Even aware influence can be resisted with critical thinking and diverse information sources. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bernays/we-are-governed-our-minds-are-molded-our-tastes-formed-our-ideas-2/) [Edward Bernays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bernays/) > [“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bernays/the-conscious-and-intelligent-manipulation-of-the-organized-habits-2/) [Edward Bernays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bernays/) > [“Me, and thousands of others in this country like me, are half-baked, because we were never allowed to complete our schooling. Open our skulls,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/me-and-thousands-of-others-in-this-country-like-me-are-half-baked/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“I had been brought up to be something of an intellectual, but there seemed at the time no connection between my newly formed ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-said-makdisi/i-had-been-brought-up-to-be-something-of-an-intellectual-but-there/) Jean Said Makdisi > [No state of society or laws can render men so much alike but that education, fortune, and tastes will interpose some differences between them;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/no-state-of-society-or-laws-can-render-men-so-much-alike-but-that/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [I collect my tools: sight, smell, touch, taste, hearing, intellect. Night has fallen...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikos-kazantzakis/i-collect-my-tools-sight-smell-touch-taste-hearing-intellect-night/) [Nikos Kazantzakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikos-kazantzakis/) > [The worst thing for me is to not taste what I'm eating, to not know what I'm eating. It upsets me to no avail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-robuchon/the-worst-thing-for-me-is-to-not-taste-what-i-m-eating-to-not-know/) [Joel Robuchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-robuchon/) > [“That is why I love Starbucks. It doesn't matter how much money you have or what social world you're from, chances are you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyra-davis/that-is-why-i-love-starbucks-it-doesn-t-matter-how-much-money-you/) [Kyra Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyra-davis/) > [A difference of taste in jokes is a great strain on the affections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-difference-of-taste-in-jokes-is-a-great-strain-on-the-affections/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [...it isn't foolish or wicked to enjoy. Wickedness is hurting people on purpose. I love what you are and who you are and how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/it-isn-t-foolish-or-wicked-to-enjoy-wickedness-is-hurting-people-on/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [Good taste ruins certain true spiritual values: such as taste itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coco-chanel/good-taste-ruins-certain-true-spiritual-values-such-as-taste-itself/) [Coco Chanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coco-chanel/) > [If Robert Heinlein is more to your taste than George Lucas: “If you are part of a society that votes, then do so. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-drum/if-robert-heinlein-is-more-to-your-taste-than-george-lucas-if-you-are/) [Kevin Drum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-drum/) > [Critics are biased, and so are readers. (Indeed, a critic is a bundle of biases held loosely together by a sense of taste.) But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-balliett/critics-are-biased-and-so-are-readers-indeed-a-critic-is-a-bundle-of/) Whitney Balliett > [“On the third day, she smelled the fruit as soon as she came in. She followed the scent to the kitchen, and the peach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allegra-goodman/on-the-third-day-she-smelled-the-fruit-as-soon-as-she-came-in-she/) [Allegra Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allegra-goodman/) > [When I passed the Chancellor he arose, waved his hand at me, and I waved back at him. I think the writers showed bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/when-i-passed-the-chancellor-he-arose-waved-his-hand-at-me-and-i/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) ## More by Edward Bernays > [The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bernays/the-conscious-and-intelligent-manipulation-of-the-organized-habits/) [Edward Bernays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bernays/) > [The American motion picture is the greatest unconscious carrier of propaganda in the world today. It is a great distributor for ideas and opinions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bernays/the-american-motion-picture-is-the-greatest-unconscious-carrier-of/) [Edward Bernays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bernays/) > [Any person or organization depends ultimately on public approval, and is therefore faced with the problem of engineering the public's consent to a program…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bernays/any-person-or-organization-depends-ultimately-on-public-approval-and/) [Edward Bernays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bernays/) > [If we understand the mechanisms and motives of the group mind, it is now possible to control and regiment the masses according to our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bernays/if-we-understand-the-mechanisms-and-motives-of-the-group-mind-it-is/) [Edward Bernays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bernays/) > [Small groups of persons can, and do, make the rest of us think what they please about a given subject. But there are usually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bernays/small-groups-of-persons-can-and-do-make-the-rest-of-us-think-what/) [Edward Bernays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bernays/) > [The invisible government tends to be concentrated in the hands of the few because of the expense of manipulating the social machinery which controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bernays/the-invisible-government-tends-to-be-concentrated-in-the-hands-of-the/) [Edward Bernays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bernays/) > [The only difference between 'propaganda' and 'education,' really, is in the point of view. The advocacy of what we believe in is education. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bernays/the-only-difference-between-propaganda-and-education-really-is-in-the/) [Edward Bernays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bernays/) > [The best defense against propaganda: more propaganda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bernays/the-best-defense-against-propaganda-more-propaganda/) [Edward Bernays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bernays/) > [Our invisible governors are, in many cases, unaware of the identity of their fellow members in the inner cabinet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bernays/our-invisible-governors-are-in-many-cases-unaware-of-the-identity-of/) [Edward Bernays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bernays/) > [The counsel on public relations is not an advertising man but he advocates for advertising where that is indicated. Very often he is called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bernays/the-counsel-on-public-relations-is-not-an-advertising-man-but-he/) [Edward Bernays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bernays/) > [Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bernays/vast-numbers-of-human-beings-must-cooperate-in-this-manner-if-they/) [Edward Bernays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bernays/) > [I believe that competition in the future will not be only an advertising competition between individual products or between big associations, but that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bernays/i-believe-that-competition-in-the-future-will-not-be-only-an/) [Edward Bernays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bernays/) > [The best place to find things: the public library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bernays/the-best-place-to-find-things-the-public-library/) [Edward Bernays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bernays/) > [If you can influence the leaders, either with or without their conscious cooperation, you automatically influence the group which they sway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bernays/if-you-can-influence-the-leaders-either-with-or-without-their/) [Edward Bernays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bernays/) > [For the same reason I read the National Geographic, I like to see places I will never visit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bernays/for-the-same-reason-i-read-the-national-geographic-i-like-to-see/) [Edward Bernays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bernays/) [Explore all 47 Edward Bernays quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bernays/) ## More Heard quotes > [If you’re a person struggling to eat and stay healthy you might have heard about Michael Jordan or Muhammad Ali, but you’ll never have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/if-you-re-a-person-struggling-to-eat-and-stay-healthy-you-might-have/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want to make myself and the crowd happy by way of something different, and that makes things difficult. I'm never playing something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiesto/i-want-to-make-myself-and-the-crowd-happy-by-way-of-something/) [Tiesto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiesto/) > [When I was in my twenties and just so sexually prolific, the first time I went to Machu Picchu, this guy, a spiritual teacher,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-harrelson/when-i-was-in-my-twenties-and-just-so-sexually-prolific-the-first/) [Woody Harrelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-harrelson/) > [I have heard that if you pull a bent breath through the second hole of a harmonica tuned to the key of Georgia while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/i-have-heard-that-if-you-pull-a-bent-breath-through-the-second-hole/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) > [I have often heard that the novel is dead. But I see novels produced, I don't know how many a week, in France. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalie-sarraute/i-have-often-heard-that-the-novel-is-dead-but-i-see-novels-produced-i/) [Nathalie Sarraute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalie-sarraute/) > ["Summer Sisters" is probably my least autobiographical book. The whole idea started with rowing down the pond. And I heard an explosion. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/summer-sisters-is-probably-my-least-autobiographical-book-the-whole/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) > [I was young, but to me that was underground music. I had never heard anything like Venom or any of that stuff growing up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-pajo/i-was-young-but-to-me-that-was-underground-music-i-had-never-heard/) [David Pajo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-pajo/) > [I've heard some pretty bad things in my life. I'm just one of those people I've gotten to a point where I don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophia-bush/i-ve-heard-some-pretty-bad-things-in-my-life-i-m-just-one-of-those/) [Sophia Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophia-bush/) > [If, for instance, they have heard something from the postman, they attribute it to a semi-official statement; if they have fallen into conversation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/if-for-instance-they-have-heard-something-from-the-postman-they/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [When you hear my records today hear a vanilla sounding artist with no black inflection, although I was trying to imitate what I heard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-boone/when-you-hear-my-records-today-hear-a-vanilla-sounding-artist-with-no/) [Pat Boone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-boone/) > [Have you not heard it said full oft, A woman's nay doth stand for naught?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/have-you-not-heard-it-said-full-oft-a-woman-s-nay-doth-stand-for/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [If nothing that can be seen can either be God or represent Him to us as He is, then to find God we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-nothing-that-can-be-seen-can-either-be-god-or-represent-him-to-us/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [There's not much left inside me, Max" Sometimes, all she heard were echoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/there-s-not-much-left-inside-me-max-sometimes-all-she-heard-were/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) Browse all 6,551 Heard quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Bernays" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bernays/we-are-governed-our-minds-are-molded-our-tastes-formed-our-ideas/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Heard" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bernays/we-are-governed-our-minds-are-molded-our-tastes-formed-our-ideas/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b97/edward-bernays-14230_heard_we-are-governed-our-minds-are-molded-our_966988.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b97/edward-bernays-14230_heard_we-are-governed-our-minds-are-molded-our_966988.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b97/edward-bernays-14230_heard_we-are-governed-our-minds-are-molded-our_966988.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never…” — Edward Bernays", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Edward Bernays", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bernays/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We are governed, our minds are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bernays/we-are-governed-our-minds-are-molded-our-tastes-formed-our-ideas/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bernays/we-are-governed-our-minds-are-molded-our-tastes-formed-our-ideas/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```