All mass movements avail themselves of action as a means of unification. The conflicts a mass movement seeks and incites serve not only to down its enemies but also to strip its followers of their distinct individuality and render them more soluble in the collective medium.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Mass movements use conflict to unify followers by erasing individuality.
- In plain terms
- Shared enemies dissolve personal distinctness into the collective.
- What can you take from it?
- Recognize when groups use enemies to control your identity.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What makes you follow a group?
- Does this cause erase your self?
Another view
Shared causes can also inspire genuine good.
More from Eric Hoffer
A war is not won if the defeated enemy has not been turned into a friend.
Permalink to quote #161 Animals can learn, but it is not by learning that they become dogs, cats, or horses. Only man has to learn to become what he is supposed to be.
Permalink to quote #163 A man by himself is in bad company.
Permalink to quote #160
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