Anne Surma, Kristin Demetrious







Plastic words, public relations and the neoliberal transformation of twentieth century discourse

This paper argues that public relations and its relationship to communicative ethics played an integral, though hitherto under-theorised, political and cultural role in shaping the emergence and development of the neoliberal project in the twentieth century. Drawing on primary archival documents and synthesising a range of secondary material, the paper explores the proposition that public relations activities were instrumental in embedding the discursive and rhetorical impetus of ideas of freedom, the free market and free enterprise promoted by neoliberals in the USA during the 1930s-1940s, and that the cultural field linking to public relations was much more fertile than previously understood. The reach and diversity of twentieth-century public relations supporting the neoliberal agenda is not yet fully acknowledged. This has implications for our understanding of how public opinion is shaped in contemporary society and the ethical conduct of public debates pivotal to the phenomenon of neoliberalism.

Keywords: discourse, neoliberalism, plastic words, propaganda, US public relations


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Note on the contributor

Anne Surma is an Associate Professor in the School of Arts at Murdoch University, in Western Australia. Her research explores the imaginative and ethical uses of discourse and rhetoric in public and professional communications. This interest is variously reflected in Anne's journal articles and chapters in edited collections, as well as in her two sole-authored books, Public and professional writing: Ethics, imagination and rhetoric (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005) and Imagining the cosmopolitan in public and professional writing (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013). She is currently working on a book-length project (with co-author Associate Professor Kristin Demetrious), contracted to OUP New York, exploring the ways in which contemporary social issues are shaped by neoliberal discourse and rhetoric. Contact details: School of Arts, Murdoch University, South Street, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150. Email: a.surma@murdoch.edu.au
Kristin Demetrious is an Associate Professor in the School of Communication and Creative Arts at Deakin University in Victoria, Australia. Kristin's research investigates power relations in public relations through a number of social sites such as activism and gender using a socio-cultural lens to explore how it (PR) can create and control forms of identity and can shape public debates that influence social directions. She has two award-winning books: monograph Public relations, activism and social change: Speaking up (Routledge, 2013) and an edited collection with co-author Christine Daymon: Gender and public relations: Critical perspectives on voice, image and identity (Routledge, 2014). Contact details: SCCA, Deakin University, Locked Bag 20000, Geelong, VIC, 3220, Australia. Email: kristin.demetrious@deakin.edu.au