Cultural propaganda is that which seeks to influence people in nonideological ways. It is almost always marked by sources of propaganda making anti-capitalist, anti-consumerist, and anti-cultural conformist content while at the same time exerting pressure in favor of nonideological conformity in various types of consumption- physical, artistic, etc. It is certainly a test for the ability for the consumer to be manipulated by the propagandist, but how do we know what the spectrum between the cultural and ideological looks like and where the dividing line hits? How do we truly know that this is what is going on instead of simple hypocrisy on the part of propagandists who want money for themselves but not for us?
Propagandists have a few key values. The first is the urgent need to manipulate, and the second is to ensure you never know you’ve been manipulated by them. They will utilize a variety of tactics for this, but the most important are peer pressure and shaming. Those who resist cultural propaganda are heavier targets of the manipulating actions than others. It is through the tactics used towards these people where we see the hairline cracks in the ability of the propagandist to be covert in his intentions while exerting the appropriate level of pressure for the situation. This is where the theory of ascending values subordination comes into play. Those who are unwilling or unable to submit to the conformity demanded by the propagandists are those who are subordinate. The closer the thing promoted in cultural propaganda is to the ideological end of the spectrum, the more important it is to ensure as many people comply as possible. As the propaganda inches closer to the ideological edge of the spectrum, propagandists are more or less forced to choose between emphasizing either urgency or subtlety. Because the propagandist is fully dedicated to his cause, the former almost always must trump the latter.
Language will almost always determine where the thing promoted in cultural propaganda is on the ideological spectrum. It can be difficult to tell the difference between the more and less urgent matters among the various things the masses are told to be obsessed with, as bombastic language and peer pressure is always utilized. That is, if it weren’t for shame. Those who have been subordinate will typically be considered one or more of the following things: out of touch, uncultured, stupid, unfeeling, or evil. The more propagandist value there is to something, the more those who resist it will be shamed. If this appears in circumstances that appear to be completely nonideological, then you have hit upon a propagandist being able to successfully conceal the ideological nature of his work. However, most of the time the ties will become more obvious the more closely you observe what is going on.
For example, when a certain novel that has been published only in the last year or two winds up on lists with titles like “Novels you must read before you die” and the like, understand that this novel is almost certainly sub-propaganda. If you are considered uneducated or closed-minded for reading such a new novel, this is definitely a high value piece of sub-propaganda, and those who do not read it must be shamed by the propagandists until they comply.