As you said in your podcast, Mr. Godin stays at a higher altitude, not covering the detailed tactics. You may look at this as his making more general statements about “good and bad” marketing and the human condition, or academics will say that this is to ensure his books have as long a shelf life as possible. We talk about and live on the front line, which is why we like to talk about HOW things are done.

There’s a huge gap between what everyone believes is right and what actually gets done. Stanley Milgram discusses in his “Obedience to Authority” how small acts of cruelty can escalate out of control. You may hold Drucker up as your Patron Saint but when you select a link that says we recommend Nazi techniques, you practice Goebbels.

Lest we think this is consigned to the dustbin of history, it’s happening right now, all over the world. Georgians vs. Russians, Darfur, and even Republicans and Democrats in the United States, if you listen to some of the election rallies when partisans are screaming “Kill him!” about the opposition candidate.

We are always only a small step away from bringing Goebbels out of the grave and making use of his ideas again. If we don’t study them carefully, we’ll all fall victim once more, and the cost will again be unthinkably inhumane.