3 ms·

There are a couple of clear traits to bad mass movements: > the faithful strive to escape suspicion by adhering zealously to prescribed behavior and opinion A

There are a couple of clear traits to bad mass movements: > the faithful strive to escape suspicion by adhering zealously to prescribed behavior and opinion And also the demonising of individuals or groups, rewriting of history and not having any clear goals or demands, or them being utopian as in unattainable.

foldr 3y ago
> or them being utopian as in unattainable. Universal suffrage seemed utopian and unattainable for a long time – until it happened. It's actually rather difficult to predict which political goals are or aren't obtainable without the benefit of hindsight.
- Nevermark 3y ago
  I think that was clearly obtainable in principle, or at least asymptotically attainable. An unattainable utopia might include anacapitalists who want to replace any kind of government or governance with an expansion of capitalism, and don't see inherent problems with that.
  - foldr 3y ago
    People saw lots of 'inherent problems' with universal suffrage too. They were all silly, in retrospect, but did not seem so at to many people at the time. See e.g. https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/classicreadings/chapter/bertrand-russell-on-anti-suffragist-arguments/ https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/classicreadings/chapter/bertr...
eduction 3y ago
Hoffer doesn’t say bad mass movements are like that, he says all mass movements are like that, according to the article: “ Hoffer writes that “in a mass movement, the air is heavy-laden with suspicion…the faithful strive to escape suspicion by adhering zealously to prescribed behavior and opinion…” Totally specious. How is this true of the civil rights movement, or the gay rights movement , or the movement for labor rights (pensions, 8 hour workdays, weekends) in the first half of the 20th century? The whole piece is painting mass movements with a broad brush because the author doesn’t like certain specific recent ones.

foldr 3y ago

> or them being utopian as in unattainable. Universal suffrage seemed utopian and unattainable for a long time – until it happened. It's actually rather difficult to predict which political goals are or aren't obtainable without the benefit of hindsight.

Nevermark 3y ago
I think that was clearly obtainable in principle, or at least asymptotically attainable. An unattainable utopia might include anacapitalists who want to replace any kind of government or governance with an expansion of capitalism, and don't see inherent problems with that.
- foldr 3y ago
  People saw lots of 'inherent problems' with universal suffrage too. They were all silly, in retrospect, but did not seem so at to many people at the time. See e.g. https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/classicreadings/chapter/bertrand-russell-on-anti-suffragist-arguments/ https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/classicreadings/chapter/bertr...

eduction 3y ago

Hoffer doesn’t say bad mass movements are like that, he says all mass movements are like that, according to the article: “ Hoffer writes that “in a mass movement, the air is heavy-laden with suspicion…the faithful strive to escape suspicion by adhering zealously to prescribed behavior and opinion…” Totally specious. How is this true of the civil rights movement, or the gay rights movement , or the movement for labor rights (pensions, 8 hour workdays, weekends) in the first half of the 20th century? The whole piece is painting mass movements with a broad brush because the author doesn’t like certain specific recent ones.