177 pages
English language
Published Jan. 24, 2002
This book presents ideas about how mass movements work and the psychology of people that awaken/join mass movements. The author uses examples of movements of all types from the past, as well as movements that were current when the book was written; and discusses in great detail many techniques used to form and hold them together, the many motives that draw people to them, and the similarities between movements that appear on the surface to be completely different in nature (e.g., secular vs. religious, communist vs. fascist, radical vs. reactionary movements). The book is well referenced, and uses quotes from secular and religious writings (the Bible, too) associated with mass movements past and (the author's) present.
This book will be of great interest to anyone who is interested in: psychology, particularly of fundamentalism and blind faith, why some psychological conditions cause people to behave as they do, and the psychology …
This book presents ideas about how mass movements work and the psychology of people that awaken/join mass movements. The author uses examples of movements of all types from the past, as well as movements that were current when the book was written; and discusses in great detail many techniques used to form and hold them together, the many motives that draw people to them, and the similarities between movements that appear on the surface to be completely different in nature (e.g., secular vs. religious, communist vs. fascist, radical vs. reactionary movements). The book is well referenced, and uses quotes from secular and religious writings (the Bible, too) associated with mass movements past and (the author's) present.
This book will be of great interest to anyone who is interested in: psychology, particularly of fundamentalism and blind faith, why some psychological conditions cause people to behave as they do, and the psychology of groups; the history of change through social upheaval and mass movements; how and why secular and religious extremist/fanatical groups come into being; and why there has been and continues to be so much injustice, violence and depravity on such large scales in "civilization".
The book does well at the author's stated intent to not judge the groups and personalities it discusses; however, it describes them so clearly that readers who are not good at honest introspection will probably recognize and judge themselves, and immediately feel an impulse to hate the author or declare him a blasphemer, and/or to ban the book (my local library thought it had the book, but when I wanted to borrow it they couldn't find it - I would not be surprised if a "true believer" started to read it and censored it from the library).
"There is perhaps no more reliable indicator of a society's ripeness for a mass movement than the prevalence of unrelieved boredom."
"The fiercest fanatics are often selfish people who were forced, by innate shortcomings or external circumstances, to lose faith in their own selves."
Fascinating, searing and insightful, but also set in its ways. It was originally published in 1951, and some of Hoffer’s perspective has not stood the test of time; however, the parallels he draws about mass movements around the world absolutely do, and I found it hard not to think about the current rise of Trumpian nationalism as he laid out his argument.
A reviewer of Richard Dawkin’s The Selfish Gene said that some books have ideas that are explained so clearly that we think we could have thought of them ourselves. That we, the readers, are the geniuses. Hoffman uses what seems to be common sense psychology applied with a deep knowledge of history and an unusual ability to classify and draw comparisons yielding a classic exploration of the features of mass movements and their participants. You may feel like a genius when you read this book. His comments are only dated in so far as they mention the events of his day, e.g. Charles de Gaulle; otherwise, they seem timeless. It’s hard to limit what I found to be of special interest since, although there is some slight repetition, there is no spare chatter in this book. Relative to our current situation, Hoffer, who died in 1983, says,
“A peculiar side …
A reviewer of Richard Dawkin’s The Selfish Gene said that some books have ideas that are explained so clearly that we think we could have thought of them ourselves. That we, the readers, are the geniuses. Hoffman uses what seems to be common sense psychology applied with a deep knowledge of history and an unusual ability to classify and draw comparisons yielding a classic exploration of the features of mass movements and their participants. You may feel like a genius when you read this book. His comments are only dated in so far as they mention the events of his day, e.g. Charles de Gaulle; otherwise, they seem timeless. It’s hard to limit what I found to be of special interest since, although there is some slight repetition, there is no spare chatter in this book. Relative to our current situation, Hoffer, who died in 1983, says,
“A peculiar side of credulity is that it is often joined with a proneness to imposture….The inability or unwillingness to see things as they are promotes both gullibility and charlatanism.“ [Chapter 59],
“Should Americans begin to hate foreigners wholeheartedly, it will be an indication that they have lost confidence in their own way of life.” [Chapter 73],
and concerning the attributes necessary for the leader of a mass movement,
“Exceptional intelligence, noble character, and originality seem neither indispensable nor perhaps desirable. The main requirements seem to be: audacity and a joy in defiance; an iron will; a fanatical conviction that he is in possession of the one and only truth; faith in his destiny and luck; a capacity for passionate hatred; contempt for the present; a cunning estimate of human nature; a delight in symbols (spectacles and ceremonials); unbounded brazenness….” [I’ll spare you the rest, except to say that such a leader must be able to find able lieutenants, or he will fail. Chapter 90]
There isn’t much to complain about in Hoffer’s famous book, but when he quotes Hitler, he either refers to Mein Kampf or to Hermann Rauschning’s book, Gespräche mit Hitler. The latter seem far-fetched to me, and, as pointed out to me by another reviewer, the Wikipedia article’s Talk page on Rauschning has an extensive and caustic discussion on the accusations that some of Rauschning’s works might have been fraudulent.
