Division to Confusion

Division to Confusion: When the opponent group targeted for attack is large, cooperative and unified in their forces, by separating them from one another or separating them into smaller units, the entire group is more easily defeated and controlled. When the separation into smaller units is successful, the attack is then on their common bonds of unity. Seeking to confuse them with fear and misinformation so they will not know which way to turn, what to expect or who to trust. In the stewardship of any project or organization, this is a critical concept to understand.

Psychological Warfare is the deliberate use of various manipulations, promotion and deception techniques, such as spreading propaganda and terror, to induce or reinforce attitudes that are favorable to gain strategic advantage over others. Sun Tzu, a Chinese Military Strategist originally said the best victory in warfare is the one in which you never have to fight your enemy in actual combat. Thus, Psychological Warfare tactics are also marketed as a self-improvement sales tool for ambitious, materialistic people that plot to maneuver into positions of power in order to gain advantages in business, relationships and socio-political influence. Essentially, this is to secretly scheme and manipulate others in a well thought out strategy in order to get what you want from the power structure and to get access to other people’s resources. Generally it is desirable to achieve these goals in such way that the plotters remain undetected in their climb to power and position, without anyone even realizing the entire situation was a calculated scheme.

In the past such Machiavellian schemes were thought to portray the devious behavior of criminals and despots, believed to have undesirable and even appalling human character traits. Today these extremely negative behaviors are normalized and commonly applied in the business operations of the everyday world, by financially rewarding people that act as predators. Thus, the current terrain requires that we open our mind to comprehend the most common concepts of Psychological Warfare, because all of us are being exposed to it every day.