The Psychology of Totalitarianism
Book by Mattias Desmet
DETAILS
Publisher : Chelsea Green Publishing (June 23, 2022) Language : English Hardcover : 240 pages ISBN-10 : 1645021726 ISBN-13 : 978-1645021728 Item Weight : 1.25 pounds Dimensions : 6 x 1.25 x 9 inches Best Sellers Rank: #5,463 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #3 in Political Philosophy (Books) #3 in Fascism (Books) #9 in History & Theory of Politics , The world is in the grips of mass formation―a dangerous, collective type of hypnosis―as we bear witness to loneliness, free-floating anxiety, and fear giving way to censorship, loss of privacy, and surrendered freedoms. It is all spurred by a singular, focused crisis narrative that forbids dissident views and relies on destructive groupthink. Desmet’s work on mass formation theory was brought to the world’s attention on The Joe Rogan Experience and in major alternative news outlets around the globe. Read this book to get beyond the sound bites! Totalitarianism is not a coincidence and does not form in a vacuum. It arises from a collective psychosis that has followed a predictable script throughout history, its formation gaining strength and speed with each generation―from the Jacobins to the Nazis and Stalinists―as technology advances. Governments, mass media, and other mechanized forces use fear, loneliness, and isolation to demoralize populations and exert control, persuading large groups of people to act against their own interests, always with destructive results. In The Psychology of Totalitarianism , world-renowned Professor of Clinical Psychology Mattias Desmet deconstructs the societal conditions that allow this collective psychosis to take hold. By looking at our current situation and identifying the phenomenon of “mass formation”―a type of collective hypnosis―he clearly illustrates how close we are to surrendering to totalitarian regimes. With detailed analyses, examples, and results from years of research, Desmet lays out the steps that lead toward mass formation, including: An overall sense of loneliness and lack of social connections and bonds A lack of meaning ―unsatisfying “bullsh*t jobs” that don’t offer purpose Free-floating anxiety and discontent that arise from loneliness and lack of meaning Manifestation of frustration and aggression from anxiety Emergence of a consistent narrative from government officials, mass media, etc., that exploits and channels frustration and anxiety In addition to clear psychological analysis―and building on Hannah Arendt’s essential work on totalitarianism, The Origins of Totalitarianism ―Desmet offers a sharp critique of the cultural “groupthink” that existed prior to the pandemic and advanced during the COVID crisis. He cautions against the dangers of our current societal landscape, media consumption, and reliance on manipulative technologies and then offers simple solutions―both individual and collective―to prevent the willing sacrifice of our freedoms. “We can honor the right to freedom of expression and the right to self-determination without feeling threatened by each other,” Desmet writes. “But there is a point where we must stop losing ourselves in the crowd to experience meaning and connection . That is the point where the winter of totalitarianism gives way to a spring of life.” "Desmet has an . . . important take on everything that’s happening in the world right now."―Aubrey Marcus, podcast host "[Desmet] is waking a lot of people up to the dangerous place we are now with a brilliant distillation of how we ended up here."―Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. "One of the most important books I’ve ever read."―Ivor Cummins, The Fat Emperor Podcast "This is an amazing book . . . [Desmet is] one of the true geniuses I've spoken to . . . This book has really changed my view on a lot."―Tucker Carlson, speaking on The Will Cain Podcast Read more
REVIEW
Absolutely brilliant. Not only is this work critical to understanding the dynamics of what is occurring in the world today, Desmet has achieved the rare feat of making a deeply intellectual discussion thoroughly practical. (I also must say that Desmet’s writing is a thing of beauty. Despite its weighty subject matter and mind-blowing implications, it was a pure pleasure to read.) Sure. This book might not be the political tome that some hoped for. However, political tomes are a dime a dozen. This analysis, by contrast, is foundational. Indeed, part of the angst (for lack of a better word) caused by the global pandemic response, both by governments and the masses, is that none of the observed phenomena can be understood, at all, through politics. Yet here we are. There’s a great deal of hope in the truth that totalitarian regimes always implode and that remaining (or becoming) a dissident can at least slow the advent of atrocities. That fact is not chopped liver. Rather, it’s wonderfully liberating for those who accept it. We can’t crush the regime (global or local). Nor can we “take back” anything. That is fact. Once the totalitarian regime is established, it must exhaust and extinguish itself. On the other hand, we are not powerless. Our honorable and effective contribution to the implosion process is to remain dissident, hold ground, and remember that even little acts of speaking out are poignant and magnified in these times. Indeed, internalizing the fact that all your “little” acts of speaking truth do make a tremendous difference to the lifecycle of the totalitarian regime is exhilarating. While much of the analysis here is set out as the mass vs. the truth-speakers, in a more primitive sense it’s the fearful vs. the fearless. Specifically, those who dreadfully fear death vs. those who, for whatever reason, don’t. (Not that any of us are free of fear, but the old adage applies: courage isn’t the absence of fear, it’s the determination to keep going anyway.) But this shows up a terrible irony. Clearly, there is an inverse relationship between fear and compassion. This inversion is at its zenith when it regards death. The more a person is whipped up to fear his own death, the less compassion he has on the dying. See seniors dying alone, without even any human touch, and no one within the mass cared. The response to children forcibly being carried off and “prophylactically” imprisoned. Much worse scenarios could be stated. The fear-generated lack of compassion becomes ruthless on every level. Dr. McCullough talks often about the crisis of compassion among doctors and health care workers during the pandemic, at times to the point that he shed tears. The anti-human policies that were accepted are a testament to the power wielded through mass fear. A doctor who is part of the mass is suddenly psychologically able to hard-heartedly tell patients “no, you’re not allowed to even try that medicine,” even if the patient is dying and, under non-mass circumstances, the doctor would have been quick to prescribe that med for off-label use. As fear burgeons and becomes the organizing principle of the mass, compassion plummets. Multiply that times a million individuals in various positions of power and authority—all in an intensely enforced positive feedback loop—and the mass becomes ruthless and brutal indeed. Thus, it should come as no shock that those who integrate into the mass fear are stripped of their humanity first. Then they strip the Other. But, again, the good news here is that no matter how overwhelming the mass may appear, history proves its vulnerabilities. There’s value in buying time and delaying the atrocities. There’s moral and practical value in speaking the truth in ways large and small, matter-of-factly declining to go along, in love, in living without fear of death. Light, no matter how small, does extinguish darkness. Thank you, Professor Desmet.
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