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Speaking of mass movements, what do you associate them with? The Nazi movement led by Adolf Hitler during the Second World War? Or the movie Braveheart, in which William Wallace led the Scottish people to fight for freedom against the noble class? In this book, Eric Hoffer revealed the typical characteristics of mass movements during the “active phase”, what kind of person is prone to be a true believer of a mass movement, what force drives the true believer to be ready to sacrifice his life for mass movements, and why some mass movement leaders have their names live on through history, while others are remembered infamously? First of all, let’s see how the true believer is born through the following story.
We all know that cats are no big fan of chili peppers, and an average person won’t often think about stirring up a movement or revolution. One day, someone raised the question: “How can we make cats eat chili peppers?” The question baffled many people. The first person said: “Catch the cat and put the pepper into its mouth by force.” The questioner shook his head and said: “Everything should be done voluntarily.” Then, a second person proposed: “Starve the cat for a couple of days and mix the pepper into its food. Since the cat will be so hungry by then, it will swallow the food, along with the pepper.” But the questioner replied: “We shouldn’t trick others.” In the end, everyone wanted to know the solution. The questioner told them the answer: apply the pepper to the cat’s butt, which will cause a stinging sensation, so that the cat will feel like licking where it hurts. The more it licks, the more excited it gets. When the little cat’s butt stings due to the stimulus of the pepper, it will feel like licking the spot. Likewise, when a person is discontented with the status quo, he or she will have a desire for change. These kind of people are most likely to devote themselves to mass movements, because mass movements cater to their discontentment with the status quo and desire for change. By creating a noble and sacred mission, mass movements allow them to give up their current normal lives and overthrow the ruling class through devotion and self-sacrifice.
It sounds a bit unbelievable, but throughout history, we can see that the people with a desire for change are most likely to become the true believers of mass movements. Therefore, when we don’t understand why the true believer is so fanatical, we can change our viewpoint to think about the pepper on their butts and the incitement.
