ABSTRACT
This chapter develops, through the perspective of political economy, a critique of the role of public relations in the formation and implementation of public policy. A general model of influence production through domination of individual and collective understandings of problems and prospects is introduced, and then expanded through discussion of policies related to the development and use of information technologies. The relations between technology, market relations, and social consciousness are seen to be structured in dominance by large corporate actors through their use of coordinated public relations campaigns. The discussion identifies numerous policy arenas where public relations efforts dominate the policy debate.
