The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements

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Summary: Brilliant and concise treatise on mass movements
Review: The True Believer_ by Eric Hoffer is a short though rather intense and pithy book. His basic premise is that there are traits common to all mass movements, whether they are religious, social, or nationalist in nature. He stresses that while not all movements - and followers of such mass movements, the titular true believer - are identical nevertheless (be they Communism, the French Revolution, Islam, or Christianity) all share certain essential characteristics. He also stresses that he is not making value judgments; that while few would dispute that Nazism was evil many mass movements produced positive benefits (for instance the rapid modernization of Japan and Turkey would not have been possible without a revivalist nationalist movement).

The true believer in any mass movement shares many key characteristics. One is that he or she is discontented and blames the world for his or her problems. Second is that he possesses some sense of power, whether real or imagined (those who are in awe of the world he wrote do not think of change, no matter how miserable); the true believer is not destitute, as those who are living hand-to-mouth, unsure of food on a daily basis, don't join mass movements. Moreover, this power comes from some powerful doctrine or infallible leader and through these things the believer feels he has power. Third, the true believer has a great deal of faith in the future, that he believes that tremendous change is possible. Fourth, the true believer is inexperienced, that generally he is nearly completely ignorant of the difficulties involved in a movement's massive undertakings.

Hoffer identified several of the appealing elements of mass movements to individuals. Though mass movements in their more mature stages attract those who seek self-advancement, they generally at first are appealing to those who seek self-renunciation. They see their lives - and the present in which they live -as irredeemably spoiled. These people seek a rebirth and wish to lose themselves in a mass movement. The true fanatic of a movement is always incomplete and insecure, only finding assurance through whatever he desperately clings to. Hoffers wrote that fanatics sometimes switch movements entirely and the truest fanatics in any movement have more in common with the fanatics in other movements than with moderates, sometimes one becoming the other (Saul becoming Paul, radical Communists becoming radical Nazis, etc.). The fanatic seeks to deal with a pressing sense of self insufficiency with a strong missionary zeal to proselytize and dominate the world.

What types of individuals seek the self-renunciation, rebirth, and transformed future offered by a mass movement? The "new poor" are a key group, those that have a memory of better times, of more affluence and often more power but through circumstances have been deprived of them. The "free poor" are another vital group. Hoffer wrote that freedom "aggravates as much as it alleviates frustration." Freedom of choice places the blame of failure in life squarely on the shoulder of the individuals; they are free to fail and they would rather seek freedom from responsibility. The free poor - perhaps recently freed slaves, perhaps those who once lived under a despotic regime and came to dislike the following anarchy - often seek freedom from being free, valuing equality and fraternity much more than they value freedom. They find in a mass movement a refuge "from the anxieties, barrenness, and meaninglessness of an individual existence."

Hoffer stressed however that not all poor people join mass movements; as noted the abject poor do not join them, nor do those he called the "unified poor," those who are members of compact, tightly knit groups that provide solidarity and support (such as in the past the Chinese family or the Jewish ghettos in Medieval Europe). Leaders of mass movements he noted were aware of these groups and often sought to disrupt or destroy them.

Once within a mass movement the true believer is assimilated. This is facilitated by "make believe" - activities such as parades and by wearing uniforms - that stress the glory of a movement, carrying away viewers by sheer spectacle. Leaders of a mass movement deprecate the present, encouraging a negative attitude to the world as it is and fixing the attention upon the future. Doctrine is key in this, a "fact proof screen" that insulates the individual from the world, a doctrine that is deliberately not wholly intelligible and that requires no small amount of faith to follow.

Mass movements themselves have many similarities. First, all mass movements are competitive. Second, all mass movements are ultimately interchangeable, either changing in character or possessing more than one character, as a religious movement may become a nationalist one or vice versa. For instance Zionism can be seen as a nationalist, social, and religious movement. Third, while mass movements do not require a God they do require a devil, something to focus their wrath on (and if an enemy does not exist it must be invented).

For a mass movement to come to pass, three types of leaders at different stages are required. More often than not, each of these leaders is a different person. First is the man of words, an articulate and intelligent person who undermines faith in the existing order and sets the stage for a mass movement. When conditions are ripe the second leader, the fanatic, appears, one who is comfortable in a world of chaos and is not interested in reform but rather revolution, moving beyond mere dialogue - however important - and enacting real change. However, while a mass movement is pioneered by the man of words and materialized by the fanatic, it is consolidated by the man of action, a person who has experience and can consolidate and stabilize the gains made by fanatics. Those movements that lack this person can burn out, destroyed in trying to achieve ever more impossible goals. The man of action saves a movement from suicidal dissensions and the recklessness of fanatics.

An excellent book, it was well worth reading.


Rating:
Summary: Hoffer is king...
Review: This book is incredible. It is one of the most important books ever written in my opinion. I'm looking at a lot of the reviews here, and how everyone is saying this book is perfect for the analysis of the terrorist mindset. It is...but it is also absolutely incredible at looking at the unquestioning American patriot, which does not question it's own government's actions enough. This book should be required reading for everyone, at least 3 times.