The True Believer : Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements

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Summary: Hofferian Insights Bearing Upon September 11
Review: "The less justified a man is in claiming excellence for his own self, the more ready is he to claim excellence for his nation, his religion, his race or his holy cause."--Eric Hoffer, The true Believer

None of the terrorists of September 11 were destitute. Some even had wives and children. Nevertheless, they committed suicide for their cause. Anyone wanting to understand this horrible irony would do well to read Eric Hoffer's 1951 classic, The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements. Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) was a self-educated US author and philosopher who was a migratory worker and longshoreman until 1967. He achieved immediate acclaim with his first book, The true Believer.

According to Hoffer, the early converts to any mass movement come from the ranks of the "frustrated," that is, "people who..feel that their lives are spoiled or wasted." The true believers' "Faith in [their] holy cause is to a considerable extent a subsitute for [their] lost faith in [themselves]." He says that we are prone to throw ourselves into a mass movement to "supplant and efface the self we want to forget." He then adds, "We cannot be sure that we have something worth living for unless we are ready to die for it."

Hoffer offers a general insight about mass movements, which seems to prophetically explain why there is currently widespread anti-Western sentiment within Islamic countries:

"The discontent generated in backward countries by their contact with Western civilization is not primarily resentment against exploitation by domineering foriegners. It is rather the result of a crumbling or weakening of tribal solidarity and communal life.

"The ideal of self-advancement which the civilizing West offers to the backward populations brings with it the plague of individual frustration. All the advantages brought by the West are ineffectual substitutes for the sheltering and soothing anonymity of a communal existence. Even when the Westernized native attains personal success--becomes rich, or masters a respected profession--he is not happy."

Further along, Hoffer mentions those who "want to eliminate free competition and the ruthless testing to which the individual is continually subjected in a free society."

Why should individualism, freedom, and self-advancement be hated? Again, I can do no better than quote Hoffer:

"Freedom aggravates as much as it alleviates frustration. Freedom of choice places the whole blame of failure on the shoulders of the individual. And as freedom encourages a multiplicity of attempts, it unavoidably muliplies failure and frustration...Unless a man has talents to make something of himself, freedom is an irksome burden...We join mass movements to escape individual responsibility...."

In light of the above quotes, there is little wonder that the terrorists chose to destroy the Twin Towers. These were architectural symboles of individualism and self-advancement.

But Hoffer's book does more than give us insight into the psychology of the fanatic. It causes us to soberly contemplate ourselves. For who has not experienced failure, frustration, and a sense of futility at one time or another? The true Believer is one of those few books I consider to contain ideas approximating to true "wisdom."

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Summary: An important read for 2001
Review: The True Believer is an oldie but goodie. First published in 1951, it should be read today. It is on the psychology of mass movements and how they can transform practical purposes in to holy causes. Half the book is on the mental state of the fanatical true believer. Part 1 is about mass movements and their appeal. Part 2 is about the psychology of the potential convert. This believer will possess a belief in an irresistible power, whether it be Marxism (for Bolsheviks), Blitzkrieg (Nazis), Man's Reason (French Revolution), or Islam. In Part 3, Hoffer focuses on the factors that promote self sacrifice and the unifying effect that common hatred of a tangible enemy, suspicion, imitation, or other agents can have. The book closes with a discussion of good and bad mass movements. Especially interesting to the reader in late 2001 will be the discussion on the fervently enthusiastic adherents who are ready to die for the movement. The author begins with the hypothesis that frustrated people are drawn to mass movements in its revivalistic phase, and it is the frustration of the adherent that can be directed and channeled by the movement. He writes that the adherent will be discontented but not destitute, and believe that through their possession of a potent doctrine or infallible leader, they will possess irresistible power. Many will find mass movements appealing so that they can self-renunciate themselves, or rid themselves of the unwanted self; a lost faith in oneself is substituted for faith in the movement. In Hoffer's discussion of the interchangeability of movements, he goes on to posit that the adherent is ripe for any movement, and can be receptive to another movement (Attention Pakistan... redirection of adherents is possible)

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Summary: Forever relevant
Review: When, a few years ago, I became aware of the terrorist network of Bin Laden I could not help but think back to this excellent, concise book by Eric Hoffer.

It was written in 1951 and I first read it sometime in the early 70s. Hoffer is, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest observers of the human condition ever. All his works are short, concise, with no wasted words or hyperbole.

After the attack of September 11 and all of the pundits attempting to tell us why, I kept thinking, "they are missing the real story". Upon rereading "True Believer" this weekend I was reminded of how right he has it. By delving into the history of civilization's upheavals he explains how and why we continue to see this phenomenon and how it may play out.

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Summary: An early look inside the mind of Osama bin Laden
Review: Fifty years ago, this book explained terrorist minds such as Osama bin Laden.

Eric Hoffer had a perceptive mind and a persistent intellectual curiosity. In the years after World War II, he was puzzled at how dedicated Nazis could become dedicated communists literally within a heartbeat. His conclusion doomed the continuing success of his book, he defined the mind of the fanatic rather than defending the ideology of politics.

The book was first published in 1951, at the height of the McCarthy witch hunts. Instead of attacking communism, Hoffer identified fanatics as guilt-ridden hitch-hikers who thumb a ride on any ideology from Christianity to communism. The fault, according to Hoffer, was the mind of the fanatic who needs a Stalin or a Hitler or a Christ or a bin Laden to worship and die for. His description of a fanatic fitted Sen. Barry Goldwater's assertion that "extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice." It applies to Jerry Falwell with the same rigor as he would define bin Laden today.

Consider some of Hoffer's assertions:

"Faith in a holy cause is to a considerable extent a substitute for the lost faith in ourselves.

"The less justified a man is in claiming excellence for his own self, the more ready he is to claim all excellence for his nation, his religion, his race or his holy cause.

"A man is likely to mind his own business when it is worth minding. When it is not, he takes his mind off his own meaningless affairs by minding other people's business.

"This minding of other's people's business expresses itself in gossip, snooping and meddling, and also in feverish interest in communal, national and racial affairs. In running away from ourselves we either fall on our neighbor's shoulder or fly at his throat."

Now tell me, does this sound like bin Laden and/or Falwell (plus a wide number of other zealots you may wish to name):

"The burning conviction that we have a holy duty toward others is often a way of attaching our drowning selves to a passing raft. What looks like giving a hand is often a holding on for dear life. Take away our holy duties and you leave our lives puny and meaningless. There is no doubt that in exchanging a self-centered for a selfless life we gain enormously in self-esteem. The vanity of the selfless, even those who practice utmost humility, is boundless."

Sound familiar ? It is the terrorist mind. It applies equally well to the John Birch Society and the militia movements as to the KKK and the anti-war fervor as to bin Laden and the Palestinian suicide-bombers. In America, fanatics were relegated to the silly fringes of society. In parts of the world, they are elevated to be heroes.

The fanatic is forever with us. The very definition of fanaticism rejects toleration for others; yet, to survive, we must tolerate the ideas of others -- even the most outlandish. The answer is from one of the greatest Native Americans, President Benito Juarez of Mexico, who asserted "Peace is respect for the rights of others."

Hoffer outlined the problem with brilliance, but he failed to offer a solution. Americans don't like open-ended problems; from sit-coms to revenge for the World Trade Center, they want answers. That is the weakness of the book, and perhaps why it isn't better known today.

For now, the answers will be bombs, bullets and cruise missiles. But, revenge only digs two graves. On a long-term basis, the answer must surely be something along the line of Juarez's statement. In ending his short book, Hoffer quotes J. B. S. Haldane who counted fanaticism among the only four really important inventions made between 3000 BC and 1400 AD.

"It was a Judaic-Christian invention," Hoffer wrote. "And it is strange to think that in receiving this malady of the soul the world also received a miraculous instrument for raising societies and nations from the dead -- an instrument of resurrection."

Or, in more prosaic terms, the inability to hold a grudge.

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Summary: Best Book Ever Witten about Fanatism and Mass Movements
Review: Without question the most insightful book written to date on the mind of the terrorist. This masterpiece by Hoffer is more relevant than ever in light of the events of September 11th .. ..and it was published in 1951.

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Summary: A timely book to read after Sept. 11
Review: Anyone seeking a framework for understanding the current terrorist problem need look no further.
Hoffer explains the parallells in mass movements throughout history -- the poor and downtrodden masses, the men of promise who lead them, the scapegoats used to unite them to sacrifice everything for a greater cause. It's uncanny!

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Summary: If you want to understand why terrorists attack us
Review: Hoffer's book was first published in 1951. I was introduced to it by a student of cultural anthropology in the mid-sixties, a period when mass movements seemed to arise each week. In the wake of the WTC tragedy, my first thought was, "Why do these people hate us so much?" I ran through all of America's potential "sins" as a nation--support of Israel, economic imperialism, dubious foreign policy, IMF, World Bank, human rights capitulations in return for market access, etc.--before realizing that while this litany provided fodder for the disaffected's hatred (and was relevant in any evaluation of our strategy for the future), it was not really at bottom in the terrorist's heart. After going back over "The True Believer," it's clear that today's terrorism is nothing but the latest deadly form of mass movement, born out of the same appeal, spawning the same converts who are motivated by the same ideals of self-sacrifice and bound together by the same unifying agents--not unlike Nazism or Communism. To combat terrorism, it's crucial that we understand what attracts converts to bin Laden's movement, who they are (ie, their fundamental characters) and what unifying agents help bind them together in united action. Hoffer's book, like the dictionary, the Bible, or any other important household reference, should be in every home, within easy reach.

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Summary: Classic Analysis of the Mind of the Fanatic
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My recollection of "The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements" - Eric Hoffer's classic analysis of the mind of the fanatic and the mass movements which he passionately embraces - was brought back by the genocide of September 11, 2001, perpetrated almost certainly by religious fanatics.

Hoffer's keen and sometimes frightening observations of the fanatic who "glories in the sight of a world coming to a sudden end," and will sacrifice himself for an impossible dream were verified by that recent attack upon America, upon Western Civilization.

The author notes that the true believer is a misfit, recruited from the ranks of the frustrated, looking for a cause which he can call his own, so that his propensity for failure is removed and his self-worth can then be attached to that cause, rather then to his hated self. These extremists are of the same caste as the Nazi whom Hoffer quotes as wanting to be "free from freedom," and they worship a doctrine which they assume "is a master key to the world's problems," a doctrine which will be neither intelligible nor verifiable, but which demands total self-sacrifice such that it can extend even to martyrdom.

According to Hoffer, all contemporary true believers "whether Communist, Nazi, Fascist..." deem that "Western...democracies are old, corrupt and decadent" and "are no match for the virile congregations of the faithful who are about to inherit the earth." The author goes on to reveal the woeful consequences which fanaticism and mass movements engender.

The reader will understand before he moves very far along in this remarkable book, why Hoffer preceded the text of it with this quote from Genesis: "And slime had they for mortar."

This longshoreman/philosopher has made a vital contribution to our heritage of liberty, and this work can serve as an essential introduction for all those who wish to understand the nature of fanaticism - the age-old enemy of freedom and of free people.

It is clear and concise; it can be read in just a few evenings. Add this treasure to your personal library and rest assured that it is even more relevant today then when it was first published, astonishingly, 50 years ago (1951).

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Summary: must read
Review: Lucid, concise, and perpetually relevant. Of particular interest is Hoffer's recognition of the fundamental interchangeability of mass movements. Divided into four parts: The Appeal of Mass Movements, The Potential Converts, United Action and Self-Sacrifice, and Beginning and End. Some potential converts, by Hoffer's approximation are the poor, misfits, the inordinately selfish, the bored, and the sinners. Some factors promoting self-sacrifice are identification with a collective whole, make-believe, deprecation of the present, and doctrine. Some unifying agents are hatred, imitation, persuasion and coercion, and suspicion. And in the Beginning and the End there are essentially 3 types of individuals: men of words, the fanatics, and practical men of action. An absolute gem and excellent companion to James P. Carse's Finite and Infinite Games.

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Summary: Eric Hoffer's finest work
Review: Eric Hoffer developed an uncanny passion for absorbing and interpreting information; granted, the passion was borne of his fear of a relapse to the blindness of his youth, but it was this passion, the passion of all believers, that he truly understood. The ultimate expression of Hoffer's understanding was this book.

Hoffer's jumps between his cross-sections of movements, the primary people of movements, and the people whom may join a movement(s), without any regard for the overt differences on their faces. He sees beyond them to their similarities, and does an excellent job of displaying as much to the reader without bias for any particular one.

And that's the truly amazing factor of "The True Believer": the detached nature of Hoffer's writing, which was favorably compared to that of Machaivelli's writing of "The Prince." Many people find such abstractions of information and lack of favoritisms troubling, because it leaves so many unanswered questions, or more importantly, the question of who or which movements were or are right or wrong, unanswered.

But that's where the reader needs to think. Some people and indeed some movements may have been right or wrong, but Hoffer is not the one to make such a judgment. You have to make those distinctions for yourself. And when you do make those choices, consider the many similarities those movements have with movements closer to your heart. It forces you to consider things at their essence, which is the same.

"The True Believer" does not contain all the answers, but it shows the reader the way towards their personal choices and understanding in the matter. It's a book with potentially devastating prospects for the long closed-minded(who may risk shattering their belief/identity and being laid bare before themselves), but it leads many others to that higher sense of awareness needed to survive, even still in this day and age. Highly recommended.