thoughts on the nature of mass movements

Compact structures, like families in decline are, however, fertile ground for mass movements. Mass movements often try to break down family units to feed the movement. Unified Poor: Compact or tribal groups are relatively free of frustration. Equality and fraternity are preferred over freedom.Ĭreative Poor: The ability to create mitigates frustration however, those whose creativity is fading, or those who didn’t quite achieve creative satisfaction, may seek escape in mass movements.

Fanatics fear freedom more than persecution. Discontent is high, however, when misery is still bearable.įree Poor: Freedom creates and alleviates frustration. New Poor: Memory of better times puts fire in their bellies.Ībject Poor: Too occupied with survival to organize. Here are the ranks of mass movement fodder: A society without the dregs may be peaceful and complacent, but lacking in the seeds for change. The best and worst of society often determine the course of history – over the heads of the great middle. No movement is whole of a singular nature. Mass Movements compete with one another, and often are interchangeable. Belonging to a mass movement substitutes for deficiencies in the individual. High hopes and dark endings incongruently go together. Faith in the future and the ability to project hope makes for receptivity to change. Attached to this frustration these individuals possess a sense of power to accomplish great change. The desire for change starts and lives in the hearts of frustrated people. We need to fully grasp this material to fight against extreme leftism and create our own counter-movement: I found the following summary online and found it accurate for the book’s content. In it, is a reflection of nearly every mass movement in history along with the likes of Antifa/BLM and (hopefully) our eventual movement. This information is essential for dissidents to understand. It puts many things into perspective regarding mass movements of all kinds. I heavily encourage this book to all of my readers. It really takes two reads to fully grasp the complexity of it. It is short but packed full of information. The True Believer: Thoughts On The Nature Of Mass Movements by Eric Hoffer is a tremendous read.

Thoughts on the nature of mass movements