I don’t think ‘brainwashing’ is a helpful or accurate term here, in the sense that I think most people mean it (deliberate, intensive, psychological pressure of various kinds). Presumably most North Koreans who believe such a thing do so because lots of different authority sources say so and dissenting voices are blocked out. I’m not sure it’s helpful to call this ‘brainwashing’, unless we’re going to say that people in the middle ages were ‘brainwashed’ to believe in monarchy, or to be racist, or to favour their country over their neighbours etc.
Even outside of repressive regimes, there are probably a whole host of things that most Americans believe that most Brits don’t and vice versa, and that’s in a case with shared language and culture. I’m not sure ‘brainwashing’ can be used just because lots of people in one place believe something that hardly anyone from outside does.
There’s two theories here. One is that brainwashing is a rare and ineffective thing, The other is that accultauration, or whanever is.pervasive and effective and largely unnoticed, and the reason the NRMs aren’t too effective is that the standard societal indoctrination is hard to budge.
I don’t think ‘brainwashing’ is a helpful or accurate term here, in the sense that I think most people mean it (deliberate, intensive, psychological pressure of various kinds). Presumably most North Koreans who believe such a thing do so because lots of different authority sources say so and dissenting voices are blocked out. I’m not sure it’s helpful to call this ‘brainwashing’, unless we’re going to say that people in the middle ages were ‘brainwashed’ to believe in monarchy, or to be racist, or to favour their country over their neighbours etc.
Even outside of repressive regimes, there are probably a whole host of things that most Americans believe that most Brits don’t and vice versa, and that’s in a case with shared language and culture. I’m not sure ‘brainwashing’ can be used just because lots of people in one place believe something that hardly anyone from outside does.
There’s two theories here. One is that brainwashing is a rare and ineffective thing, The other is that accultauration, or whanever is.pervasive and effective and largely unnoticed, and the reason the NRMs aren’t too effective is that the standard societal indoctrination is hard to budge.