The Psychology of Totalitarianism

The world is in the grips of mass formation―a dangerous, collective type of hypnosis―as we bear witness to loneliness, free-floating anxiety, and fear giving way to censorship, loss of privacy, and surrendered freedoms. It is all spurred by a singular, focused crisis narrative that forbids dissident views and relies on destructive groupthink.

Desmet’s work on mass formation theory was brought to the world’s attention on The Joe Rogan Experience and in major alternative news outlets around the globe. Read this book to get beyond the sound bites!

Totalitarianism is not a coincidence and does not form in a vacuum. It arises from a collective psychosis that has followed a predictable script throughout history, its formation gaining strength and speed with each generation―from the Jacobins to the Nazis and Stalinists―as technology advances. Governments, mass media, and other mechanized forces use fear, loneliness, and isolation to demoralize populations and exert control, persuading large groups of people to act against their own interests, always with destructive results.

In The Psychology of Totalitarianism, world-renowned Professor of Clinical Psychology Mattias Desmet deconstructs the societal conditions that allow this collective psychosis to take hold. By looking at our current situation and identifying the phenomenon of “mass formation”―a type of collective hypnosis―he clearly illustrates how close we are to surrendering to totalitarian regimes.

With detailed analyses, examples, and results from years of research, Desmet lays out the steps that lead toward mass formation, including:

An overall sense of loneliness and lack of social connections and bonds
A lack of meaning―unsatisfying “bullsh*t jobs” that don’t offer purpose
Free-floating anxiety and discontent that arise from loneliness and lack of meaning
Manifestation of frustration and aggression from anxiety
Emergence of a consistent narrative from government officials, mass media, etc., that exploits and channels frustration and anxiety



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