The True-Believer: How Fanaticism Leads The World To Chaos
A powerful explanation of why the world is burning.
On the eve of the end of World War Two, the most destructive conflict humanity has ever known, British philosopher Bertrand Russell reflected on the ultimate cause of problems in the world. His words ring true in any age:
“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people are so full of doubts.” — Bertrand Russell
What Russell proposed as the culprit has its roots deep in human nature. It has often been the driving factor of history. Time and time again, fools and fanatics have managed to overwhelm society, leading it to bloodshed and chaos.
In 1951, American philosopher Eric Hoffer published a book “The True Believer”. Influenced by the harsh lessons of World War II, Hoffer deliberated on the fundamental essence of mass movements. He boiled it down to a set of behaviors of the most ardent partisans, the so-called “true believers”.
Hoffer’s “true believers” are the same fools and fanatics Russell talked about. They are the close minded believers in their own self-righteousness, preaching a single “truth”. Whoever doesn’t subscribe to this orthodoxy is the enemy.
“The fanatic is also mentally cocky, and hence barren of new beginnings. At the root of his cockiness is the conviction that life and the universe conform to a simple formula: his formula.” — Eric Hoffer
While fanaticism was originally meant to describe religious fervor, it can in fact mean any type of zeal for a particular cause. The defining factor is that it sets strict lines of “us” versus “them”, where the “other” is not a worthy adversary, but rather an infidel defiling what is right.
“The cardinal doctrine of a fanatic’s creed is that his enemies are the enemies of God.” — Andrew Dickson White
Inside the head of a fanatical true-believer
Hoffer’s analysis pointed at one defining characteristic of the state of mind of a true believer: frustration.
“Starting out from the fact that the frustrated predominate among the early adherents of all mass movements and that they usually join of their own accord, it is assumed: 1) that frustration of itself, without any proselytizing prompting from the outside, can generate most of the peculiar characteristics of the true believer; 2) that an effective technique of conversion consists basically in the inculcation and fixation of proclivities and responses indigenous to the frustrated mind.” — Eric Hoffer
If you look at any of the mass movements that sprang up throughout history, and that are springing up now, frustration is the predominant state of mind of its adherents. Donald Trump’s QAnon cultists on one side, and the social justice warriors on the other, all take advantage of this. In fact, as Hoffer noted, these movements foster it.
“A proselytizing mass movement deliberately fosters in its adherents a frustrated state of mind, and that it automatically advances its interest when it seconds the propensities of the frustrated.” — Eric Hoffer
People who feel things are outside their control, that the world is out to get them, are easy prey. The dogma these mass movements preach finally gives them a sense of control. They feel as if they have regained agency in a world previously beyond their reach.
Many of these frustrated people feel lost. Getting subsumed in a cause gives them a sense of belonging. Group-based cognitive biases start rearing their ugly heads, fortifying mental links to the “in” group, while at the same time demonizing the “out” groups.
Hoffer noticed that no matter the ideology, religion, or dogma the group professed, the type of people who joined were all very similar to each other. Despite being on opposite sides of the political spectrum, or professing hostile creeds, the mindset was the same.
“All movements, however different in doctrine and aspiration, draw their early adherents from the same types of humanity; they all appeal to the same types of mind.” — Eric Hoffer
The alt-right Trumpies and the alt-left social justice warriors might be shouting nasty slogans at each other, but in reality these people are incredibly similar. According to Hoffer, the fanatics of all kinds are opposites not of each other, but of the moderate. The Trumpster and the wokester are similar. It is the political moderate that is different.
“Though they seem to be at opposite poles, fanatics of all kinds are actually crowded together at one end. It is the fanatic and the moderate who are poles apart and never meet.” — Eric Hoffer
What types of conditions lead to a rise in fanaticism
It is not the poorest members of society that are the most susceptible to fanaticism. In fact, the most radical individuals are the people who are relatively well-off. Hoffer found that several conditions lead to people becoming more prone to radicalization.
“It is usually those whose poverty is relatively recent, the “new poor,” who throb with the ferment of frustration. The memory of better things is as fire in their veins. They are the disinherited and dispossessed who respond to every rising mass movement.” — Eric Hoffer
The primary factor happens when a downturn in fortune has left a people poorer than before. This is what fuels frustration. The memory of better times is still there, burning bright, but the sad reality of today weighs on the mind. When a message arrives telling them they can jump on the gravy train again, they are very likely to listen.
Another factor which can lead down the path of radicalization is the feeling of being an outsider. This can happen especially to minorities living in a place surrounded by a majority population. For Hoffer, there is a special condition that increases the probability of radicalization. Paradoxically, it is usually when the minority has seen a rapid rise in its condition, that it is more likely to fall for extremist narratives.
“Again, within a minority bent on assimilation, the least and most successful (economically and culturally) are likely to be more frustrated than those in between. The man who fails sees himself as an outsider; and, in the case of a member of a minority group who wants to blend with the majority, failure intensifies the feeling of not belonging.” — Eric Hoffer
Whereas a downturn in a person’s economic condition, or feelings of being an outsider, are powerful drivers towards extremism, there is one more thing that stimulates the outpouring of closed-mindedness. In identifying a further element in the rise of fanaticism, Hoffer echoed the words of Bertrand Russell. Boredom is the cause of sin. And extremism is the biggest type of sin.
“Boredom is therefore a vital problem for the moralist, since at least half the sins of mankind are caused by the fear of it.” — Bertrand Russell
No wonder why recent years have seen a rise in true-believers of all different creeds and ideologies. Our current social media age is the age of boredom. People can’t sit quietly in a room alone.
“There is perhaps no more reliable indicator of a society’s ripeness for a mass movement than the prevalence of unrelieved boredom. In almost all the descriptions of the periods preceding the rise of mass movements there is reference to vast ennui; and in their earliest stages mass movements are more likely to find sympathizers and support among the bored than among the exploited and oppressed. To a deliberate fomenter of mass upheavals, the report that people are bored stiffshould be at least as encouraging as that they are suffering from intolerable economic or political abuses.” — Eric Hoffer
Are we heading on a dark path?
The last few years, we have been witness to outpourings of political violence, even in places where it would have been unthinkable just a decade earlier. France was paralyzed by strikes of the “yellow vests” movement. The UK has shot itself in the foot by Brexiteer true believers.
The US has been besieged from both sides of the political spectrum. The US Capitol, the symbol of American democracy, was attacked by an enraged mob of QAnon conspiracy believing Trump supporters. On the other side, we have seen a rise in social justice orthodoxy, accompanied by violent protests and looting in the streets.
American society is experiencing the spread of what Hoffer termed the most accessible and comprehensive of all unifying agents: hatred. It is the hatred towards outsiders, towards opposite groups, and even towards heretics from the orthodoxy, that is gelling these movements together.
“Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a god, but never without a belief in a devil.” — Eric Hoffer
As Hoffer stated, mass movements don’t always need a belief in a god to drive them forward. However, what is necessary for their spread is a devil. The image of a particular devil channels the hatred, fueling the rage. Notice how in the speech of the alt-right, or the social justice warriors, certain groups are given the role of this evil supernatural being.
While the actual devil is different for each of these “true believers”, the essence of the message is the same. The devil, and his created institutions, are the problem. And only in overthrowing this devil, and installing the one true gospel, will a solution be found. It is this narrative that inflames the fanatics.
Fanaticism and the drive to destroy the existing institutions are at the root of chaos. The true believers see the present as corrupt beyond saving. Only in burning down anything that survives of the old institutions do they see a way out.
“The reason that the inferior elements of a nation can exert a marked in influence on its course is that they are wholly without reverence toward the present. They see their lives and the present as spoiled beyond remedy and they are ready to waste and wreck both: hence their recklessness and their will to chaos and anarchy.” — Eric Hoffer
This is why there is danger of chaos overwhelming the system. If these dangerous fanatics are given sway, the result will be utter destruction. And contrary to what the dogmatics profess, what will rise out of the ashes won’t be a new, better world. Rather, history teaches that in fact things will get worse.
The paradox of this entire situation is that from a material point of view, we are living in the best of worlds. In many places, most people are able to secure comforts our forefathers could only dream of. Even the most destitute of households have smartphones and access to hundreds of TV channels.
In democratic countries, discrimination based on ethnicity, race, or religion is at the lowest levels it has ever been. Yet, for some reason discontent is still rising. Hoffer has an answer for this too.
“Misery does not automatically generate discontent, nor is the intensity of discontent directly proportionate to the degree of misery. Discontent is likely to be highest when misery is bearable; when conditions have so improved that an ideal state seems almost within reach. A grievance is most poignant when almost redressed.” — Eric Hoffer
Further in his book, some of Hoffer’s words offer a stark reminder how close to the edge we really are. We can see that the “us” versus “them” divisions in our societies are growing. Dehumanization of the other side, and of certain groups, is rising. Instead of being portrayed as complex humans, caricatures of the “other” are becoming prevalent.
“The most effective way to silence our guilty conscience is to convince ourselves and others that those we have sinned against are indeed depraved creatures, deserving every punishment, even extermination. We cannot pity those we have wronged, nor can we be indifferent toward them. We must hate and persecute them or else leave the door open to self-contempt.” — Eric Hoffer
Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to be going away. Narratives are sharpening, and extreme interpretations are entering the mainstream. The fanatics are becoming stronger, and swaying the discourse to conform to their worldview.
Why this is so strong is simple. Grievances, and the passionate hatred built upon them give a sense of purpose to people whose lives are otherwise empty.
“Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life. Thus people haunted by the purposelessness of their lives try to find a new content not only by dedicating themselves to a holy cause but also by nursing a fanatical grievance. A mass movement offers them unlimited opportunities for both.” — Eric Hoffer
Holy causes seem to abound in the current day and age. Professed by people who in fact are empty inside, extremist explanations have a strong pull. Individuals become true believers in order to fill their lives with meaning.
Faith over reason. Passion over facts. Unfortunately, this state of mind doesn’t bode well for the future. When a person is convinced they are fighting for an eternal truth, they are willing to go great lengths to achieve it. This is when the world starts burning.
“It goes without saying that the fanatic is convinced that the cause he holds on to is monolithic and eternal — a rock of ages.” — Eric Hoffer
