{"product_id":"b09v1gzvqf","title":"Mass Formation (Psychosis): In Brief: Gustave Le Bon to Mattias Desmet","description":"\u003cp\u003ePraise for Truman Verdun's  Mass Formation (Psychosis): Gustave Le Bon to Mattias Desmet:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAn excellent digest of the essential ideas behind the otherwise mystifying behavior of mobs and crowds. A must-read.\u003cbr\u003e\n-- James Howard Kunstler, author of  The Long Emergency\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNow in its 4th edition:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn the summer of 2021, Prof. Mattias Desmet rose to prominence as he discussed his theory of mass formation (or mass formation psychosis, as it's sometimes called), especially in regard to the government reaction (and overreaction) to the Covid pandemic. Most interesting to Desmet was how many government officials, bureaucrats, and much of the public got swept up in an authoritative narrative (very consciously by some, unconsciously by others), and the psychological juggernaut gathered its own momentum as it steamrolled over the world (and especially developed countries), regardless of what reasonably sound scientific data was revealing through the noise.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn various podcasts, interviews, and in his book,  The Psychology of Totalitarianism,  Prof. Desmet outlines the four preconditions that must be in place before a totalitarian leader or message can captivate the masses: (1) a lack of social bonds; (2) a lack of meaning in life; (3) free-floating anxiety; and (4) free-floating aggression. Atomized into alienated, lonely, and frustrated individuals, the masses are then ready to hear the unifying message of an ascendant totalitarian, who is practically summoned into existence by the miserable masses. The leader, through a voice amplified by mass media, transmits to the crowd the galvanizing message it had been yearning to hear: (a) an identification of the source of its discontent ( i.e.,  the enemy, or scapegoat); and (b) a strategy for dealing with that enemy or problem.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAt that point, when the roiling masses snap into some sort of coherent whole, “mass formation” occurs, and in its more extreme expressions, it can become a truly hypnotic state. Up to a third of the population might be mesmerized and unreachable by any logic or argument, another third spans the middle watching and waiting, and a final third is awake; some portion of this last group speaks up and continues to speak up, and this vocal fraction is the only hope for a society to not destroy itself in the atrocities invariably accompanying totalitarian madness when it grips a society completely. The voices of dissidents break the hypnotic spell and make possible a return to consciousness and sanity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHistorically, such mind-capture is typical of societies as they are alienated from themselves and at the cusp of totalitarian despotism, but unlike the worlds of Hitler and Stalin of the 1930s and 40s, or of Mao in the 1950s and 60s, there is no charismatic single leader at the head of today's authoritarian regimes; rather there's an alliance of elites, bureaucrats, scientists, and media employed by government, universities, and corporations, including Big Pharma—all insisting upon the same unprecedented coercive strategies.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAs Desmet has done in his research, Truman Verdun also draws upon authors including Gustav Le Bon, George Orwell, Eric Hoffer, Joost Meerloo, Jacques Ellul, and Hannah Arendt to help frame and interpret Desmet’s message. Verdun presents Desmet’s theory with care and respect, while also expanding the discussion in various places. A reader seeking a clear and insightful introduction would do well with this accessible and affordable treatment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOccam’s Razor Publishing, 2022. Incl. notes, resources, bibliography, images.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAlso see:  Mass Formation 2nd Look: Propaganda, Resonance, Resistance  (2023), which continues the vigorous discussion in a climate of increasing censorship. A terrific book ... fantastic insight into what we've just been through, as well as great strategies on how to avoid the worst---and maximize the best---of what's coming. -- B. Foreman, USA\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ANT","offers":[{"title":"Ebook","offer_id":52836957913304,"sku":"YSL64137","price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0835\/3356\/2072\/files\/81CrWXFcIcL._SY1500.jpg?v=1793275601","url":"https:\/\/www.bookmebay.com\/products\/b09v1gzvqf","provider":"BookMebay","version":"1.0","type":"link"}