Analysis of Erich Hoffer's "The True Believer"
The Nature of Mass Movements
In a time of accelerating change, social structures around the
world are under attack. Families and communities are being disrupted
and undergoing decay. Natural and man-made disasters, food shortages
and global migration all feed into and heighten the problem. The global
environment is ripening for the emergence of mass movements.
The purpose of this section is to understand the causal factors and
principles that impact the emergence of a mass movement and how we
might be able to catalyze and influence the direction and outcomes of
such a movement. Our hope is that we might catalyze a mass movement
that will provide a platform for “Connecting Resources to Needs” for
the poor and underprivileged people in developing nations.
Adherents to Mass Movements
It is imperative that we understand the strength and depth of the
convictions of adherents to mass movements. Awareness of their
commitment helps us to understand the influence and impact they have
within their social structures. They are a powerful force to be
reckoned with. Most adherents to mass movements come with a similar
mindset. As such, most movements are interchangeable. One movement can
be substituted or birthed from another. Adherents typically embody the
following characteristics:
- A readiness to die for the cause
- Proclivity for united action and self sacrifice
- Blind faith, uncompromising, and single hearted allegiance
- Enthusiasm, and willingness to attempt the impossible
- Intense fervor and reckless abandon
- Willing to sacrifice the present in preparation for the future
- Bold and immediate hope for the future
- A collective spirit of community and corporate success
- Every Mass Movement is in a sense a migration – a movement towards a promised land
Environmental Factors that Set the Stage for a Mass Movement
There are a host of environmental factors that help to set the stage
for the emergence of a mass movement. The decentralization of networks
and organizations, and the disruption of social structures, have
already been discussed. In his book “The True Believer: Thoughts on the
Nature of Mass Movements”, author Eric Hoffer provides a more
comprehensive list to include the following.
- Boredom, Frustration, Discontentment, Disillusionment with Status Quo
- There is no more reliable indicator or a society’s ripeness for a mass movement than the prevalence of unrelieved boredom
- Boredom
accounts for the almost invariable presence of spinsters and
middle-aged women at the birth of mass movements. Hitler made full us
of the society’s ladies thirsting for adventure, sick of their empty
lives, no longer getting a kick out of love affairs
- Frustration is greater when we have much and want more, than when we have nothing and want some
- Its not suffering but a taste of the better things that excite people to riot
- Adherents must be intensely discontent but not destitute
- People are ripe for a mass movement immediately following a great loss of something they hold dear
- Those who have tasted the better things and then lost them
- Alienation by, or disillusionment of, the current authority structure
- People wanting to escape from an Unwanted Self
- The
innermost craving is for a new life, rebirth, or change to acquire new
elements of pride, confidence, hope, sense of purpose and worth by
identification with a holy cause
- The movement offers a substitute either for the whole self or for the elements that make life bearable
- Disruption of the social glue to include such things as
- Discrediting and undermining of authority
- Increased divorce and illegitimacy
- Others taking over responsibility for feeding, educating and entertaining
- Disruption of the family fosters a collective spirit and responsiveness to mass movements
- Alienation from or breakdown of the family, social structure, church structure, tribal structure, or sense of community
- Lack of Community and Equality
- Those who see themselves as spoiled and wasted, crave equality and fraternity more than freedom
- Equality is the Passion of the Masses
- People may not be revolting against the powers that be, but because of their weakness
- A new mass movement can quickly emerge where one already exists
- Movements
are interchangeable since they draw from the same frustrated mindsets.
One mass movement can transform into another. A religious movement can
become a social movement or national revolution or vice versa
- The right Leadership is necessary. Though many of the following
characteristics provided in “The True Believer” may have negative
connotations, they are worth noting. They will provide us with a
heightened awareness towards monitoring the environment for evidence of
these indicators. A mass movement is:
- Pioneered by Men of Words (Articulate Speakers)
- Undermines established institutions and discredits those in power, prevailing creeds, and institutions
- Detaches them from the allegiance of the people
- Indirectly creates a hunger for faith
- Furnishes the doctrine and slogans of the new faith
- Weakens prevailing beliefs and loyalties
- Passion is to reform the present
- Materialized by Fanatics (Inspirational Leaders)
- Chaos is his element
- Inspires people to action
- Demands blind obedience and total allegiance
- Proclaims an immediate hope for the future
- Embraces
a cause not primarily because of its justness and holiness but because
of their passionate attachment that turns everything into a holy cause
- Cannot be weaned away from the cause by an appeal to reason or moral sense; They cannot be convinced but only converted
- The Fanatical Leader will joyfully sacrifice the present
- Consolidated by Men of Action (Operational Managers)
- Only the entrance of a Man of Action can save the achievements of the movement
- This role is performed by different individuals than the Man of Words or Fanatic
- Establishes process and structure to sustain and stabilize the movement
- Makes the Doctrine intelligible to win the loyalty of the intellectuals
- When
the Man of Action emerges, the rapid expansion stage of the mass
movement is over and adherents are becoming more interested in
stabilizing the movement and achieving personal gain.
One of the closing statements in Eric Hoffer’s book summarizes the power and impact of emerging mass movements.
“In democracies people are too soft, too
pleasure loving and too selfish to die for a nation, a God or a holy
cause. This lack of a readiness to die, we are told, is indicative of
an inner rot – a moral and biological decay. The democracies are old,
corrupt and decadent. They are no match for the virile congregations of
the faithful who are about to inherit the earth.”
(quoted from the starfish website)
Discuss factors which Hoffer identifies that cause self-sacrifice or that unify movements.
Biblical Passages about this Principle
Write out two passages about either this principle of unity or of self sacrifice
A Leader who Models this Principle
Describe the difference between the three types of movement leaders he identifies. How do you relate these to the five Leadership roles of Ephesians 4:11-13?
Readings
Hoffer, E. (1951). The True Believer. New York and London, Harper & Row.
