The True Believer - Revision history

Eric: Minor typo fix

2018-02-05T17:40:43Z

Minor typo fix

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	interchangeable. One mass movement readily transforms itself into		interchangeable. One mass movement readily transforms itself into
	another. A religious movement may develop into a social		another. A religious movement may develop into a social
	revolution or a nationalist movement; a social revolution, into militant nationalism or a religious movement; a nationalist movement into a social revolution or a religious ~~movemen~~		revolution or a nationalist movement; a social revolution, into militant nationalism or a religious movement; a nationalist movement into a social revolution or a religious movement
	*The intensity of discontent seems to be in inverse proportion to		*The intensity of discontent seems to be in inverse proportion to
	the distance from the object fervently desired.		the distance from the object fervently desired.

Marcin at 10:03, 5 February 2018

2018-02-05T10:03:29Z

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	A book on mass movements by Eric Hoffer, winner of Presidential Gold Medal		A book on mass movements by Eric Hoffer, winner of Presidential Gold Medal
	=Quotes=		=Quotes=
			*However much the protesting man of words sees himself as the
			champion of the downtrodden and injured, the grievance which
			animates him is, with very few exceptions, private and personal.
			His pity is usually hatched out of his hatred for the powers that be.4
			“It is only a few rare and exceptional men who have that kind of
			love toward mankind at large that makes them unable to endure
			patiently the general mass of evil and su*ering, regardless of any
			relation it may have to their own lives.”

	*'There is thus a conservatism of the destitute as profound as the		*'There is thus a conservatism of the destitute as profound as the
	conservatism of the privileged, and the former is as much a factor in		conservatism of the privileged, and the former is as much a factor in

Marcin at 09:39, 5 February 2018

2018-02-05T09:39:49Z

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	but the gentle cynic who cares not whether there is a God or not.		but the gentle cynic who cares not whether there is a God or not.
	The atheist is a religious person. He believes in atheism as though it were a new religion		The atheist is a religious person. He believes in atheism as though it were a new religion
			*The uncanny powers of a leader manifest
			themselves not so much in the hold he has on the masses as in his
			ability to dominate and almost bewitch a small group of able men.
			These men must be fearless, proud, intelligent and capable of
			organizing and running large-scale undertakings, and yet they must
			submit wholly to the will of the leader, draw their inspiration and
			driving force from him, and glory in this submission.

Marcin at 08:32, 5 February 2018

2018-02-05T08:32:58Z

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	conjure an audience out of the sands of the desert and the waves of		conjure an audience out of the sands of the desert and the waves of
	the ocean		the ocean
			*The opposite of the religious fanatic is not the fanatical atheist
			but the gentle cynic who cares not whether there is a God or not.
			The atheist is a religious person. He believes in atheism as though it were a new religion

Marcin at 08:22, 5 February 2018

2018-02-05T08:22:25Z

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	spectacular, in other �elds can give them a sense of ful�llment. Whatever they undertake becomes a passionate pursuit; but they		spectacular, in other �elds can give them a sense of ful�llment. Whatever they undertake becomes a passionate pursuit; but they
	never arrive, never pause.		never arrive, never pause.
			*The indispensability of play-acting in the grim business of dying
			and killing is particularly evident in the case of armies. Their
			uniforms, Eags, emblems, parades, music, and elaborate etiquette
			and ritual are designed to separate the soldier from his Eesh-and-
			blood self and mask the overwhelming reality of life and death. We
			speak of the theater of war and of battle scenes. In their battle
			orders army leaders invariably remind their soldiers that the eyes of
			the world are on them, that their ancestors are watching them and
			that posterity shall hear of them. The great general knows how to
			conjure an audience out of the sands of the desert and the waves of
			the ocean

Marcin at 07:59, 5 February 2018

2018-02-05T07:59:04Z

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	that the chief passion of the frustrated is “to belong,” and that there		that the chief passion of the frustrated is “to belong,” and that there
	cannot be too much cementing and binding to satisfy this passion		cannot be too much cementing and binding to satisfy this passion
			*The permanent mis�ts are those who because of a lack of talent or
			some irreparable defect in body or mind cannot do the one thing
			for which their whole being craves. No achievement, however
			spectacular, in other �elds can give them a sense of ful�llment. Whatever they undertake becomes a passionate pursuit; but they
			never arrive, never pause.

Marcin at 07:46, 5 February 2018

2018-02-05T07:46:52Z

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	father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that		father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that
	loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me.”		loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me.”
			*It is obvious, therefore, that, in order to succeed, a mass movement must develop at the earliest moment a compact
			corporate organization and a capacity to absorb and integrate all
			comers. It is futile to judge the viability of a new movement by the
			truth of its doctrine and the feasibility of its promises. What has to
			be judged is its corporate organization for quick and total
			absorption of the frustrated. Where new creeds vie with each other
			for the allegiance of the populace, the one which comes with the most perfected collective framework wins. Of all the cults and
			philosophies which competed in the Graeco-Roman world,
			Christianity alone developed from its inception a compact
			organization. “No one of its rivals possessed so powerful and
			coherent a structure as did the church. No other gave its adherents
			quite the same feeling of coming into a closely knit community.”
			22
			The Bolshevik movement outdistanced all other Marxist movements
			in the race for power because of its tight collective organization.
			The National Socialist movement, too, won out over all the other
			folkish movements which pullulated in the 1920's, because of
			Hitler’s early recognition that a rising mass movement can never go
			too far in advocating and promoting collective cohesion. He knew
			that the chief passion of the frustrated is “to belong,” and that there
			cannot be too much cementing and binding to satisfy this passion

Marcin: /* Quotes */

2018-02-05T07:35:11Z

Quotes

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	the others.12 No one can then point us out, measure us against		the others.12 No one can then point us out, measure us against
	others and expose our inferiority.		others and expose our inferiority.
			*The attitude of rising mass movements toward the family is of
			considerable interest. Almost all our contemporary movements
			showed in their early stages a hostile attitude toward the family,
			and did all they could to discredit and disrupt it. They did it by
			undermining the authority of the parents; by facilitating divorce; by
			taking over the responsibility for feeding, educating and
			entertaining the children; and by encouraging illegitimacy.Crowded
			housing, exile, concentration camps and terror also helped to weaken and break up the family. Still, not one of our contemporary movements was so outspoken in its antagonism toward the family
			as was earlyChristianity. Jesus minced no words: “For I am come to
			set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against
			her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And
			a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth
			father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that
			loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me.”

Marcin at 07:25, 5 February 2018

2018-02-05T07:25:51Z

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	*The intensity of discontent seems to be in inverse proportion to		*The intensity of discontent seems to be in inverse proportion to
	the distance from the object fervently desired.		the distance from the object fervently desired.
			*Those who see their lives as spoiled and wasted crave equality and
			fraternity more than they do freedom. If they clamor for freedom, it
			is but freedom to establish equality and uniformity. The passion for
			equality is partly a passion for anonymity: to be one thread of the many which make up a tunic; one thread not distinguishable from
			the others.12 No one can then point us out, measure us against
			others and expose our inferiority.

Marcin: /* Quotes */

2018-02-05T07:00:52Z

Quotes

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	another. A religious movement may develop into a social		another. A religious movement may develop into a social
	revolution or a nationalist movement; a social revolution, into militant nationalism or a religious movement; a nationalist movement into a social revolution or a religious movemen		revolution or a nationalist movement; a social revolution, into militant nationalism or a religious movement; a nationalist movement into a social revolution or a religious movemen
			*The intensity of discontent seems to be in inverse proportion to
			the distance from the object fervently desired.