Subject: Review of book
Name of the book: The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements
Written by: Eric Hoffer
Worded by: Yogesh Gogwekar
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I always enjoy reading philosophical books and just now I have completed one book which was published seven decades back i.e. in 1951. The name of the book is,” The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements written by Eric Hoffer. It is a visionary book. It can be read even in today’s context. It tells us to be very careful before we start believing in the personality cult of mass movements. This book is nothing but a penetrating study of an individual whose mind becomes fanatic. It is not a fun book but one can make out that it had been written with great planning and hard work. It warns us regarding the mass movements which give us false assurances about the future. At the time of explaining this, Eric Hoffer says,” though a mass movement at first turns its back on the past, it eventually develops a vivid awareness, often specious; of a distant glorious past…a vivid awareness of past and future robs the present and its reality. It makes the present a…section in a procession or parade. The followers …see themselves in a soul-stirring drama played to a vast audience –generations gone and generations yet to come”. According to Eric Hoffer, people have certain psychological problems; therefore, they join the movements to forget their individual existences. At the time of explaining this, he writes,” It is doubtful whether the fanatic who deserts his holy cause or is suddenly left without one can ever adjust...to an autonomous...existence. He remains a homeless hitchhiker on the highways of the world thumbing a ride on any eternal cause that rolls by...He is even ready to join...against his former...cause, but it must be a genuine crusade- uncompromising, intolerant, proclaiming the one and only truth.``
Eric Hoffer was a very well-known American Philosopher and Social writer who had written ten books. The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements was his first book which was widely recognised as classic work. He was born in New York in 1902 to Kunt and Elsa. At the age of five, he could read both in English and German. When he was five years old his mother fell down from stairs when he was in her arms. After the two years of this incident, his mother died without any recovery and Eric Hoffer lost his eyesight at the age of seven. After the death of his mother, he was raised by a live-in relative of German woman Martha. At the age of 15, his eyesight was inexplicably returned. Due to the fear in the mind that he might lose his eyesight again, he started reading books without wasting his time; but his eyesight remained. This made Eric Hoffer an avid reader and never abandoned his habit of voracious reading. His father was a cabinet maker and died when Eric Hoffer was young. After that he went to Los Angeles where he did some odd jobs for surviving or selling oranges on street and sometimes occasional writings but he never gave up his reading at any cost. In California, he collected library cards for each town near the fields where he worked and lived by preference with the books. During World War II, he tried to join the US Army but was rejected due to hernia. Later on he took his writing as a serious affair and came into limelight when he published his first book at the age of 49. The ‘True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements’ which gives explanations of fanaticism and mass movements. He became a literary favourite and became a faculty member of California university and worked there till retirement. Other than True Believer, he has written ten more books and has written in newspaper columns. He died in 1983 at the age of 93. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in February 1983 by US President Ronald Regen. His Ordeal of Change was also a good book.
This book is outstanding from all angles of mass movements which helps us to understand how the portrait of personality cult is dangerous in politics and religion. It leads us to develop authoritarian types of institutions. This book has given fantastic explanations along with examples of how mass movements of fascists, communist and religious leaders developed and brought disaster in later life. Eric Hoffer portrays such human beings in mass movements as someone who yearns for certainty and fear for ambiguity. He further says that such persons simply like to obey the orders and are not ready to take any decisions. Therefore, they are happy to remain in an exclusive group and hate the outsiders who are in their groups. In short, the author studied the anger and fear of human beings, their willingness to surrender themselves to the leaders who will assure their thoughts and also influence through wrong propaganda. It does not require any rational thinking but gives rise to the necessity to find a common enemy to blame. If human beings would have accepted to think rationally, they would not have accepted any thoughts narrowly. Through this book, the writer keeps on telling us to understand and recognise the problems when they occur and work accordingly by opposing intolerance or any kind of violence. If we fail to do that, then we will lose our freedom, our security and our rights. For this purpose, the author had given the example of NAZI Government in Germany. In the beginning of NAZI government, Germans did not realise any wrong thing; but when they realised it was too late for them to act. By reading this book, one can easily conclude that this book is infinitely useful for political purposes.
The True Believer tries to explain to us a psychological and sociological analysis of the causes of the mass movement and the political upheavals it has produced. Even though this is a short book, it takes time to read to understand and analyse the same. Through this book, the author has spoken with us broadly and tried to challenge our thinking process. It is not an authoritative textbook. It is a book of thoughts which tells us how half-truth is dangerous. It throws the light on hate waves in society. While explaining the danger of hatred, it says, “Hatred is the most accessible and comprehensive of all the unifying agents. Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a god, but never without a belief in a devil." Similarly, to explain that there is no role of quality of ideas in mass movements, it says, “The quality of ideas seems to play a minor role in mass movement leadership. What counts is the arrogant gesture, the complete disregard of the opinion of others, the singlehanded defiance of the world." It tells us in mass movements how Propaganda serves more to justify ourselves than to convince others and also provides examples of rising men ideology by continuously saying words like men of action or men in words without considering women’s existences. Thus, this book tried to prove that some men participated in mass movement because it appealed to them to develop their self-esteem and it also concludes that a mass movement is pioneered by man of words (Intellectuals), materialized by fanatics and considered by men of action.
There are five chapters in this book. Each chapter has explained to us the mass movements through social as well as psychological point of view. First chapter deals with bulk actions which prodded on the transformation and desire for greater things. In the second chapter, it gives the idea of solid mass movements which brings solidarity by supplanting with assurance to something more noteworthy. Third chapter explains how hate ways start spreading through a bulk action whereas fourth chapter says that bulk actions require individuals who can articulate their objectives. And the last chapter concludes that every bulk action of similar sort, yet their objectives and outcome may vary.
Such a book has no time limit. It can be read in today’s context also, even though it was written in 1951. Every voter of democratic world should read this book. The politics of fear, division, growth of fundamentalist religion and hate spreading talks on TV will finish our freedom of speech and expression. Therefore, to avoid this, it is necessary to recommend reading this book to your friends and relatives. Please do not miss the opportunity to read this book. .
Thank You
Yogesh Gogwekar
Eric Hoffer was a very well-known American Philosopher and Social writer who had written ten books. The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements was his first book which was widely recognised as classic work. He was born in New York in 1902 to Kunt and Elsa. At the age of five, he could read both in English and German. When he was five years old his mother fell down from stairs when he was in her arms. After the two years of this incident, his mother died without any recovery and Eric Hoffer lost his eyesight at the age of seven. After the death of his mother, he was raised by a live-in relative of German woman Martha. At the age of 15, his eyesight was inexplicably returned. Due to the fear in the mind that he might lose his eyesight again, he started reading books without wasting his time; but his eyesight remained. This made Eric Hoffer an avid reader and never abandoned his habit of voracious reading. His father was a cabinet maker and died when Eric Hoffer was young. After that he went to Los Angeles where he did some odd jobs for surviving or selling oranges on street and sometimes occasional writings but he never gave up his reading at any cost. In California, he collected library cards for each town near the fields where he worked and lived by preference with the books. During World War II, he tried to join the US Army but was rejected due to hernia. Later on he took his writing as a serious affair and came into limelight when he published his first book at the age of 49. The ‘True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements’ which gives explanations of fanaticism and mass movements. He became a literary favourite and became a faculty member of California university and worked there till retirement. Other than True Believer, he has written ten more books and has written in newspaper columns. He died in 1983 at the age of 93. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in February 1983 by US President Ronald Regen. His Ordeal of Change was also a good book.
This book is outstanding from all angles of mass movements which helps us to understand how the portrait of personality cult is dangerous in politics and religion. It leads us to develop authoritarian types of institutions. This book has given fantastic explanations along with examples of how mass movements of fascists, communist and religious leaders developed and brought disaster in later life. Eric Hoffer portrays such human beings in mass movements as someone who yearns for certainty and fear for ambiguity. He further says that such persons simply like to obey the orders and are not ready to take any decisions. Therefore, they are happy to remain in an exclusive group and hate the outsiders who are in their groups. In short, the author studied the anger and fear of human beings, their willingness to surrender themselves to the leaders who will assure their thoughts and also influence through wrong propaganda. It does not require any rational thinking but gives rise to the necessity to find a common enemy to blame. If human beings would have accepted to think rationally, they would not have accepted any thoughts narrowly. Through this book, the writer keeps on telling us to understand and recognise the problems when they occur and work accordingly by opposing intolerance or any kind of violence. If we fail to do that, then we will lose our freedom, our security and our rights. For this purpose, the author had given the example of NAZI Government in Germany. In the beginning of NAZI government, Germans did not realise any wrong thing; but when they realised it was too late for them to act. By reading this book, one can easily conclude that this book is infinitely useful for political purposes.
The True Believer tries to explain to us a psychological and sociological analysis of the causes of the mass movement and the political upheavals it has produced. Even though this is a short book, it takes time to read to understand and analyse the same. Through this book, the author has spoken with us broadly and tried to challenge our thinking process. It is not an authoritative textbook. It is a book of thoughts which tells us how half-truth is dangerous. It throws the light on hate waves in society. While explaining the danger of hatred, it says, “Hatred is the most accessible and comprehensive of all the unifying agents. Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a god, but never without a belief in a devil." Similarly, to explain that there is no role of quality of ideas in mass movements, it says, “The quality of ideas seems to play a minor role in mass movement leadership. What counts is the arrogant gesture, the complete disregard of the opinion of others, the singlehanded defiance of the world." It tells us in mass movements how Propaganda serves more to justify ourselves than to convince others and also provides examples of rising men ideology by continuously saying words like men of action or men in words without considering women’s existences. Thus, this book tried to prove that some men participated in mass movement because it appealed to them to develop their self-esteem and it also concludes that a mass movement is pioneered by man of words (Intellectuals), materialized by fanatics and considered by men of action.
There are five chapters in this book. Each chapter has explained to us the mass movements through social as well as psychological point of view. First chapter deals with bulk actions which prodded on the transformation and desire for greater things. In the second chapter, it gives the idea of solid mass movements which brings solidarity by supplanting with assurance to something more noteworthy. Third chapter explains how hate ways start spreading through a bulk action whereas fourth chapter says that bulk actions require individuals who can articulate their objectives. And the last chapter concludes that every bulk action of similar sort, yet their objectives and outcome may vary.
Such a book has no time limit. It can be read in today’s context also, even though it was written in 1951. Every voter of democratic world should read this book. The politics of fear, division, growth of fundamentalist religion and hate spreading talks on TV will finish our freedom of speech and expression. Therefore, to avoid this, it is necessary to recommend reading this book to your friends and relatives. Please do not miss the opportunity to read this book. .
Thank You
Yogesh Gogwekar
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