Aldous Huxley's letter to George Orwell following the release of 1984:

[sop]

9. Huxley's exploration of hypnosis and mind control in politics appears prescient.

It's the only thing that explains Trump's Svengali-like hold on his followers, a demented demagogue who, with evil intent, has dominated, manipulated and controlled millions of Americans. Students of hypnosis will be analyzing Trump's innate ability to hoodwink and bamboozle his followers for years to come.

And this passage is striking: "Rulers will discover that infant conditioning and narco-hypnosis are more efficient, as instruments of government, than clubs and prisons, and that the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging and kicking them into obedience." The narcotizing and dysfunctional effects of social media cannot be ignored.