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Words of Wisdom — January 8, 2015

Umberto Eco: The Media Has Replaced the Army as the Means For Seizing Power

“Not long ago, if you wanted to seize political power in a country you had merely to control the army and the police… Today a country belongs to the person who controls communications.”

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Umberto Eco (b. 1932) is an Italian author, philosopher, and semiotician best known for his 1980 novel The Name of the Rose. He is the founder of the interpretative semiotics and keen medieval and literary scholar. Earlier in his career, Eco authored several major studies on mass media and media culture.

“Not long ago, if you wanted to seize political power in a country you had merely to control the army and the police… Today a country belongs to the person who controls communications.”

Source: Il costume di casa (1973); as translated in Travels in Hyperreality (1986) (via WikiQuote)

Photo credit: “Umberto Eco 1984” by Bogaerts, Rob / Anefo – Nationaal Archief Fotocollectie Anefo Nationaal Archief, Den Haag, Rijksfotoarchief: Fotocollectie Algemeen Nederlands Fotopersbureau (ANEFO), 1945-1989 – negatiefstroken zwart/wit, nummer toegang 2.24.01.05, bestanddeelnummer 932-9758. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 nl via Wikimedia Commons.

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