If I had a bookshelf labeled “Books I should’ve read sooner”, The True Believer, an all-time classic by Eric Hoffer, would occupy a permanent spot. This book was first published in 1951 and brought him fame for the rest of his life.
Slow cookin’ is good eatin’, and The True Believer is definitely slow readin’. It’s a philosophical outlook on the nature of mass movements: political, ideological, commercial or religious—and the place an individual sees for him/herself in these movements.
It’s ironic that the communal sense of belonging is almost the same in, for example, communism, totalitarianism or Christianity. More or less the same ideals drive people toward the promised glorious future, be it universal equality, the Third Reich or the Second Coming. The difference is in the substance.
Eric Hoffer also describes how each movement goes through phases, best summarized in his own words:
“A movement is pioneered by men of words, materialized by fanatics and consolidated by men of action.”
As the author highlights some of the most known movements, it’s disturbing to see how they follow this pattern and why.
“Rust in idleness”
I will list my favorite True Believer quotes below, but first I’d like to share this excerpt with you, cubicle dwellers who don’t see the light of day and wonder why you come to work every day only to build a Yet Another Enterprise Application:
”[…] It seems that frustration stems chiefly from inability to act,
and that the most poignantly frustrated are those whose talents and
temperament equip them ideally for a life of action but are condemned by circumstances to rust away in idleness.”
Can I get an “Amen”?
Technology as religion
Is technology a religion? To some, yes, definitely. With it, a
religion—any religion—brings a sense of superiority, exclusivity and
righteous indignation with the “infidels.” In this sense our industry is no exception. Unfortunately, it’s not how reasonable a technology creed is. It’s who proclaims it and how vocal they are.
“The effectiveness of a doctrine does not come from its meaning but from its certitude. No doctrine however profound and sublime will be effective unless it is presented as the embodiment of the one and only truth. It must be the one word from which all things are and all things speak. Crude absurdities, trivial nonsense and sublime truths are equally potent in readying people for self-sacrifice if they are accepted as the sole, eternal truth.”
Anybody seen this before? My advice to crazed zealots (Bellware, pay attention) is to tread lightly and to actually try to win people to their cause.
“We do not make people humble and meek when we show them their guilt and cause them to be ashamed of themselves. We are more likely to stir their arrogance and rouse in them a reckless aggressiveness. Self-righteousness is a loud din raised to drown the voice of guilt within us. There is a guilty conscience behind every brazen word and act and behind every manifestation of self-righteousness.”
Other reading
The book touches on the nature of organized religion, but does in no way bash it. For a spicier discourse, I recommend Christopher Hitchen’s God is not Great. If you have no patience, watch Mr. Hitchen’s appearance at Google, which is quite interesting.
If you are no stranger to religion, see my review of Stealing Jesus. I also recommend Misquoting Jesus, a fascinating research of a vast number (as in "tens and tens of thousands") of scriptural inaccuracies and distortions.
If the history of the Mormon church is of any interest to you, I can think of no better book than No
Man Knows My History. All I’ve ever read about Joseph Smith were hagiographies. This is a more or less accurate account of his life. It is a story about a real man whose gift of prophecy was a product of unbridled yet brilliant imagination and sharp instincts (which, ironically, precipitated his own fall).
Favorite quotes from The True Believer
“Those who would transform a nation or the world cannot do so by breeding and captaining discontent or by demonstrating the reasonableness and desirability of the intended changes or by coercing people into a new way of life. They must know how to kindle and fan an extravagant hope. It matters not whether it be hope of a heavenly kingdom, of heaven on earth, of plunder and untold riches, of fabulous achievement or world dominion.”
“Our frustration is greater when we have much and want more than when we have nothing and want some. We are less dissatisfied when we lack many things than when we seem to lack but one thing.”
Incidentally, this sounds so much like the paradox of choice.
“The sardonic remark that patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels has also a less derogatory meaning. Fervent patriotism as well as religious and revolutionary enthusiasm often serves as a refuge from a guilty conscience.”
I’ve touched on this before.
“The impression somehow prevails that the true believer, particularly the religious individual, is a humble person. The truth is that the surrendering and humbling of the self breed pride and arrogance. The true believer is apt to see himself as one of the chosen, the salt of the earth, the light of the world, a prince disguised in meekness, who is destined to inherit this earth
and the kingdom of heaven, too. He who is not of his faith is evil; he who will not listen shall perish.”
