The True Believer
Also known as The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements
Eric Hoffer's 1951 study of why people join mass movements and become fanatics.
At a glance
Key ideas
The new poor, Misfits, A devil, not a god …
See all 5Reception
Dwight Eisenhower, Bertrand Russell, Frank Meyer …
See all 4Connections
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Hoffer argues that mass movements, whether religious, nationalist or revolutionary, start from people who feel their lives are irredeemably spoiled.
- Such people seek self-renunciation in a cause, so the particular doctrine matters less than the escape.
- Movements demand total surrender of the self, unite their members through hatred of a devil, and put faith above reason.
- They begin with men of words, are taken over by fanatics, and are settled by practical men of action.
Why it matters
- It remains a standard short account of fanaticism, read again after 9/11 and after the Tea Party and Occupy protests.
Key facts
- Author
- Eric Hoffer1
- Published
- 19511
- Structure
- A preface and 125 numbered sections in 18 chapters2
- Editions
- Twenty-three editions between 1951 and 20021
Key ideas
-
The new poor1
Those who recall lost prosperity are the likeliest converts; the abjectly poor are not.
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Misfits1
The chronically bored, the talentless and others who feel their lives worthless join movements.
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A devil, not a god1
Movements need not believe in a god but must believe in a devil, ideally a foreigner.
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Fact-proof screens1
Doctrine is placed beyond question and shields believers from reality.
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Constructive leaders1
Lincoln, Gandhi and others harnessed the same forces without using "the slime of frustrated souls".
Reception
-
Dwight Eisenhower1
Read it in 1952 and gave copies to friends; Look called Hoffer "Ike's Favorite Author".
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Bertrand Russell1
Called it "as sound intellectually as it is timely politically".
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Frank Meyer1
In National Review, attacked its "cheap cynicism" toward all belief.
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Interchangeability disputed1
Many scholars cite solid group identities that rarely became interchangeable.
Connections
Written by
Links
Sources
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