The True Believer:Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements
by Eric Hoffer · first published 1951
68% recommend32% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Short, easy-to-read study of why people join mass movements, political or religious, and give up independent judgment for belonging. Readers use it as a lens on fanaticism, cults and new ideologies.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
This book presents ideas about how mass movements work and the psychology of people that awaken/join mass movements. The author uses examples of movements of all types from the past, as well as movements that were current when the book was written; and discusses in great detail many techniques used to form and hold them together, the many motives that draw people to them, and the similarities between movements that appear on the surface to be completely different in nature (e.g., secular vs. religious, communist vs. fascist, radical vs. reactionary movements). The book is well referenced, and
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…punishment: I’m not into literature but this one is worth it. A great dive into human psychology. Deliverance: intense story, read it in one night. Not sure it taught me much but man it is good. The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements. Great insights on the way ideology and politics work. Wasted time on a bunch of self help books. Most tips contained in these require you to accept yourself and the world to be applicable. And that’s…
on “Ask HN: Best books you read in the past decade?” ↗The book you might be referring to is "The True Believer" by Eric Hoffer. Published in 1951. It's about 175 pages. If you've ever wondered why political correctness, BLM and anti-racism resemble a religion (non-theistic) it is definitely worth a read. *edit…
'The True Believer: Thoughts On The Nature Of Mass Movements' by Eric Hoffer. It helps you understand all mass movements from Trump-ism to Social Justice.
on “Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?” ↗Aside: The True Believer is well worth the read. Though I may have some issues with Hoffer's conclusions in his work, I've never regretted the time spent reading him.
on “Ask HN: What are good resources for life advice?” ↗Hands down, the most useful non-technical book I’ve read is The True Believer by Eric Hoffer. Written in 1951, but utterly timeless, it unlocks a new way to view your fellow man by revealing the impulses that lead someone toward fanatical mass movements. In a funny way, it frees…
on “Some Favorite Non-Technical Books (2018)” ↗Recommended reading: https://www.amazon.com/True-Believer-Thoughts-Movements-Pere... Edit: more recommended reading: http://www.paulgraham.com/say.html http://www.paulgraham.com/conformism.html
on “Gab has been hacked and 70GB of data leaked” ↗The True Believer by Eric Hoffer. Anytime I hear about a new movement or school of thought I go back to that
on “Ask HN: What are some must read books?” ↗…ponder why Carl Sagan never added another book to his famous reading list for students, as it makes a fairly reasonable argument that most populist movements are essentially interchangeable =3 "The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements" (Eric Hoffer, 1951) https://www.amazon.com/True-Believer-Thoughts-Nature-Movemen...
on “I swear the UFO is coming any minute” ↗The True Believer by Eric Hoffer.
on “Ask HN: Which book helped you understand the world?” ↗I found the following classic an interesting guide: http://www.amazon.com/True-Believer-Thoughts-Movements-Peren...
on “Ask HN: How would you take over the world?” ↗Eric Hoffer wrote a classic book about the phenomenon. It's called The True Believer and is a short but thoroughly compelling read. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_True_Believer
I highly recommend Eric Hoffer's The True Believer if you're interested this topic at all. It's a short book full of major ideas. Hoffer's treatment of the phenomenon is just as fresh and relevant today as it was when he wrote the book in the 1950s.…
on “Sprawling Mayan network discovered under Guatemala jungle” ↗…books that could have been longer 3. Stars Beneath Us: Finding God in the Evolving Cosmos by Paul Wallace - an astrophysicist looks at the book of Job and reveals it as the big picture view. 4. The True Believer by Eric Hoffer - the all time classic of the study of mass movements. Full of aphorisms too.
on “Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?” ↗"Darwin's Cathedral" by David Sloan Wilson allowed me to come to peace with religion. Now I have a framework to understand why religions do what they do. Reading "The True Believer" by Eric Hoffer and "Private Truths, Public Lies" by Timur Kuran prepared the ground for it!
on “Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?” ↗…mortality. 4. Peter Watts - Blindsight. A romping and intellectually trusting sci-fi involving space vampires. Good biology. Made me seriously question the nature of consciousness. 5. Eric Hoffer - The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements. Dense and hard to get through old book on what it says in the title. Helped me better understand the Trump movement and similar nazi/alt-right movements that were beyond my ability to grasp before. 6.…
on “Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?” ↗