Two devices at the disposal of propaganda machines are particularly effective for defusing discontent and for unifying people despite their natural differences. Therefore these devices, both already foreshadowed in our analysis of the mixed economy, are typically applied even more systematically by socialist governments, which exercise total control over the media:

The generation of exaggerated patriotism, nationalism, or racism. Through an emphasis on national or racial pride, individuals can be persuaded to sacrifice their objective values in pursuit of the "higher" good of their country or race. The ethics of individualism, eroded even in a mixed economy, are replaced entirely by "social consciousness" in a socialist society, where people are encouraged to think of themselves only as members of the collectivist group.