Codifications must be neither propagandistic nor puzzle-like to truly decode.

Evidence

An equally fundamental requirement for the preparation of the codifications is that their thematic nucleus be neither overly explicit nor overly enigmatic. The former may degenerate into mere propaganda, with no real decoding to be done beyond stating the obviously predetermined content. The latter runs the risk of appearing to be a puzzle or a guessing game. Since they represent existential situations, the codifications should be simple in their complexity and offer various decoding possibilities in order to avoid the brainwashing tendencies of propaganda. Codifications are not slogans; they are cognizable objects, challenges towards which the critical reflection of the decoders should be directed. — Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 332

Categorization

• XREF: ‘Brainwashing tendencies of propaganda’ — Freire’s own suspicion of what his method might degenerate into; the reader’s vanguard critique. — connects to: The Restatements descended from the codification movement yet were never binding law — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 2358