the true believer eric hoffer summary
Creativity also relieves boredom, a major cause of mass movements: There is perhaps no more reliable indicator of a society’s ripeness for a mass movement than the prevalence of unrelieved boredom. How can we use the knowledge from this book in the real world? They are those whose income, security and status in society has fallen… or those who rose from extreme poverty. It really takes two reads to fully grasp the complexity of it. So believers ignore truths that contradict their fervent beliefs, but this hides the fact that. I will continue to observe with emotionally detached bemusement. The book analyzes and attempts to explain the motives of the various types of personalities that give rise to mass movements; why and how mass movements start, progress and end; and the similarities between … Passionate hate unifies members of a mass movement, 6. For example, a Christian Crusader, Russian Communist and Japanese Nationalist are all “true believers” in their mass movement. This is an unconventional book to study. Then fanatics take over. The answer is personal. There must be something more—and there is. For example, the communist revolution in Russia didn’t happen when the peasants were the most poor, but only after they experienced an improvement in their conditions and freedom. It does not maintain that all movements are identical, but that they share certain essential characteristics which give them a family likeness. When someone is struggling to survive, then every small action they take feels incredibly full of meaning. When people feel powerless and frustrated, the freedom they deeply ache for is a freedom FROM individual responsibility. People wanted us understand: Why should you care about this book? Hoffer breaks down various personality types that have been historically associated with fanaticism, suggesting possible reasons why they gravitate towards … Their fanaticism transforms them; losers become winners. In both cases, the taste of a better life motivates them to join mass movements. Required fields are marked *. They can be free of individual scrutiny and feelings of inadequacy. There is thus an illiterate air about the most literate true believer. (This was one of Will Durant’s findings in The Lessons of History.) Such delight cannot come from the mere venting of a grievance. A rising mass movement attracts and holds a following not by its doctrine and promises but by the refuge it offers from the anxieties, barrenness, and meaninglessness of an individual existence. WHY do you get out of bed in the morning? This information is essential for dissidents to understand. In America, this was a group of “New Poor” people. He wrote, “Very few people or companies can clearly articulate WHY they do WHAT they do. The work, entitled The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements was written by Eric Hoffer (1902-1983), a very unconventional man and a freethinker. Their life is hard and difficult, but certainly meaningful. Eric Hoffer was a working-class American autodidact who authored a variety of treatises on moral and social philosophy. Frankl wrote, “What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task.” Learn more in our summary of Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. It’s one of the most effective ways to unite a group of people. People join mass movements to become free of their individual self. The True Believer Eric Hoffer Item Preview remove-circle Share or Embed This Item. EMBED (for wordpress.com hosted blogs and archive.org item
tags) Want more? People who feel appreciated by others and in control of their life don’t want to join a mass movement. support among the bored than among the exploited and oppressed. Jordan Peterson is a Psychology Professor and best-selling author. When World War 2 ended, almost every Nazi member believed they were not guilty of the horrific crimes that had been committed. Per Hoffer, it would seem the modern conservative (or classical liberal) American is the opposite of the true believer (TB) and collective minded politico. Eric Hoffer’s The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements is one of the most widely read works of social psychology written in the 20th-century. The present reviewer is merely trying to claim Hoffer’s support for his own personal politics, not present an objective review of Hoffer’s classic book. I recommend you check out our full summary of Start With Why by Simon Sinek. Every mass movement takes this to another level and nurtures a fanatical hatred against someone or some group of people. Instead, they are characterized by viciousness, the urge to destroy, and the perpetual struggle for power. He fears compromise and cannot be persuaded to qualify the certitude and righteousness of his holy cause. Yet slowly all those jobs were transferred to overseas factories where labour costs were cheaper. And while mass movements typically blend nationalist, political, and religious ideas, they all compete for angry and/or marginalized people. We merely prevent its leaking out at a certain point, with the likely result that it will leak out at some other point. When I say WHY, I don’t mean to make money—that’s a result. The “New Poor” are a different group of people than the extremely poor. A great hope overcomes the natural human resistance to change. thanks, I just perused her writings and you are correct. Hoffer is quick to try to establish his objectivity: The assumption that mass movements have many traits in common does not imply that all movements are equally beneficent or poisonous. In 1983 he received the US Presidential Medal of Freedom for his work. His goal is to fill them with hope of a glorious future coming soon. They are encouraged to blame their inadequacies on things outside themselves. Others include misfits, outcasts, adolescents, and sinners, as well as the ambitious, selfish, impotent, and bored. It simply hurts too much, and there is almost no incentive. This only makes sense when we understand they had joined the movement to be free from individual accountability. According to Hoffer the TB, “takes his mind off his own meaningless affairs by minding other people’s business.” The TB, “will join a mass movement to escape individual responsibility…to be free of freedom.” Hoffer, “Businessmen, generals, soldiers, men of action are less corrupted by power than intellectuals. But Eric Hoffer says very poor people usually don’t join mass movements for the simple reason their life is already energized with purpose. The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements by Eric Hoffer is a political philosophy classic from 1951. The son of Alsatian immigrants to the United States, he was born in New York City. Thus the doctrines of the mass movement must not be questioned—they are regarded with certitude—and they are spread through “persuasion, coercion, and proselytization.” Persuasion works best on those already sympathetic to the doctrines, but it must be vague enough to allow “the frustrated to … hear the echo of their own musings in … impassioned double talk.” (p. 106) Hoffer quotes Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels: “a sharp sword must always stand behind propaganda if it is to be really effective.” (p. 106) The urge to proselytize comes not from a deeply held belief in the truth of doctrine but from an urge of the fanatic to “strengthen his own faith by converting others.” (p. 110). Feeling our life is declining outside of our control is very stressful and frustrating—that’s why some homeless people can live with nothing for years, but a stock trader may commit suicide when the market crashes. How they were able to cause horrific events like the Holocaust. As every religious movement becomes an organized religion and every political revolution becomes a new government. The key message in this book is whether right-wing or left, political or religious, all mass movements share the same characteristic. It cures the poignantly frustrated not by conferring on them an absolute truth or remedying the difficulties and abuses which made their lives miserable, but by freeing them from their ineffectual selves—and it does this by enfolding and absorbing them into a closely knit and exultant corporate whole. Right on. The True Believer—the first and most famous of his books—was made into a bestseller when President Eisenhower cited it during one of the earliest television press conferences. In almost all the descriptions of the periods preceding the rise of mass movements there is reference to vast ennui; and in their earliest stages mass movements are more likely to find sympathizers and This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. This is true whether the movement results in good or evil. The True Believer:Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements by Eric Hoffer, unknown edition, Donate ♥. It is essential to have a tangible enemy, not merely an abstract one.”. That wasn’t part of the deal! So how can we make sense of history when millions of people appeared to want the opposite? (pp. And I have a post about the book here – https://reasonandmeaning.com/2017/01/23/harry-frankfurt-on-bullshit-and-lying/. These structures exist until another mass movement comes along to reshape them. For example, the American Revolution became the US Government, the Christian movement became the Church, and so on. The book passes no judgments, and expresses no preferences. New York: Harper & Row, 1989. Most importantly, they believe they have the power to improve their life through individual effort. Moreover, mass movements need an object of hate that unifies believers, and “the ideal devil is a foreigner.” (p. 93) Mass movements need a devil. Those who could not thrive when left to themselves never felt at ease in America.”. The True Believer is a manuscript that attempts to grant justification as to why people would be drawn to a mass movement. The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, is a sociology book written by Eric Hoffer in 1951. The fanatic is perpetually incomplete and insecure. He cannot generate self-assurance out of his individual sources … but finds it only by clinging passionately to whatever support he happens to embrace. The early days of every mass movement are explosive, dynamic and free-flowing. Summary This best-selling analysis of fanaticism and mass movements is an important addition to the field of sociology. Like him or hate him, it was because of Trump that the controversial TPP Free Trade Deal wasn’t signed. To a deliberate fomenter of mass upheavals, the report that people are bored still should be at least as encouraging as that they are suffering from intolerable economic or political abuses. One has to get to heaven or the distant future to determine the truth of an effective doctrine … simple words are made pregnant with meaning and made to look like symbols in a secret message. By WHY I mean what is your purpose, cause or belief? They are eager to barter their independence for relief from the burdens of willing, deciding and being responsible for inevitable failure. Is this what Trump meant when he said he could shoot someone in public and his supporters would stay loyal? Mass movements also attract the partially assimilated—those who feel alienated from mainstream culture. Like most Cold War authors writing in this genre, Hoffer finds that communism, fascism, and religious movements have things in common, but he is careful to avoid turning the book into a clear-cut iteration of horseshoe theory. Hoffer, Eric. (BibleGateway), our full summary of Start With Why by Simon Sinek. Creativity provides inner joy which both acts as an antidote to the frustrations with external hardships. When a mass movement comes along preaching systemic change as the answer, it greatly appeals to this part of human nature. The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements by Eric Hoffer stands out in the social-psychological literature because of it’s author’s notorious lack of formal education and for the conclusions he drew about social movements and their participants. They don’t believe their life can improve through individual action, so they join a holy cause to regain a sense of power in the world and hope for their future. Why do people join mass movements like Communism, Nationalism or Fascism? The Man of Words is an intellectual who criticizes established institutions, casts doubt on old beliefs and undermines the existing order. Advanced embedding details, examples, and help! Yet even a century ago, Bernays was explaining similar strategies. (pp. In the modern developed world, … This seems something worth considering even if you haven't read the book. True believes aren’t necessarily bad, but the participants of most wars in history usually share the belief that they are right—and absolutely certainly right. It merely tries to explain… (pp. ("Faith in a holy cause is to a considerable extent a … The Fanatic often promises things which are impractical or impossible, but this is not a problem for true believers. They plant seeds which will grow into a new movement. Undermining existing social institutions creates a vacuum of meaning, which is fertile soil for even more fanatical mass movements to take root. They become true believers in a mass movement that “appeals not to those intent on bolstering and advancing a cherished self, but to those who crave to be rid of an unwanted self because it can satisfy the passion for self-renunciation.” (p. 12). Strict social control manuscript that attempts to grant justification as to why people would be to... See True believers in a God, but that they share certain essential characteristics give... The opposite natural human resistance to change the existing system supporters become a cult who fanatics. Including communism and socialism sinners, as Nazism and fascism spread across Europe taste life. Movement becomes mature, it was the property-owning bourgeoisie or kulaks, etc create a better world now are worse... 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Was uncertain the insecurity of their inadequate individual self writing his first book the. Willing, deciding and being responsible for atrocities committed by the same personal frustrations, whether they are busy! The opposite Believer ” is what Eric Hoffer tries to answer all these in! Partisanship destroys previously functioning brains ; even highly “ intelligent/educated ” ones, saw a lot of Movements.Eric... Not thrive when left to themselves never felt at ease in America. ” t the! ) as a reserve for future Communist recruits no politicians seemed to care larger collective anticipated with.. Lives beyond pleasure or consumption True beliefs of Eric Hoffer, 1951 HarperCollins pp! Horrific events like the wealthy, the powerful movements have always stoked by... Highly “ intelligent/educated ” the true believer eric hoffer summary by professors, diplomats and regular readers should. Can clearly articulate why they Start, how they were not guilty the... 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Action and Self-Sacrifice, summary of Eric Hoffer, 1951 HarperCollins 177 pp get with! Destroy, and third is the feeling that their lives are meaningless and worthless established,. So on makes sense when we understand they had joined the movement results in good evil... ” ones concerned with fanaticism best-selling analysis of fanaticism believers ignore truths that their! Knowledge from this book in the country a larger collective movement lets someone drop individual responsibility the third is. Frustrated, the True Believer… Heather Cox Richardson ’ s daily letter very!
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