The conception of the “silent majority” against the backdrop of digital aspects of political transformations

Abstract

The paper examines Jean Baudrillard’s conception of society as the silent majority. Thus conceived society has been shaped against the background of digital media transformations. Paying attention to the relationship between citizens perceiving media messages, and the media themselves and the power creating spectacular media messages, became the basis for Jean Baudrillard’s model of the relationship between power and society. This relationship takes on the function of the silent majority. A society with these characteristics emerged as a reaction to the simulative nature of power. For Baudrillard, simulation processes are the starting point of his analysis of the political sphere. Understanding society as the silent majority introduces a diagnosis of the functioning of the politician-voter relationship.

Keywords

• silent majority
• mass
• digital media
• political power
• simulation
• jean baudrillard