Eric Hoffer ( 10 of 253 )
A rising mass movement attracts and holds a following not by its doctrine and promises but by the refuge it read more
A rising mass movement attracts and holds a following not by its doctrine and promises but by the refuge it offers from the anxieties, barrenness and meaningless of an individual existence. It cures the poignantly frustrated not by conferring upon them an absolute truth or by remedying the difficulties and abuses which made their lives miserable, but by freeing them from their ineffectual selves- and it does this by enfolding and absorbing them into a closely knit and exultant corporate whole.
The savior who wants to turn men into angels is as much a hater of human nature as the totalitarian read more
The savior who wants to turn men into angels is as much a hater of human nature as the totalitarian despot who wants to turn them into puppets.
The fear of becoming a 'has-been' keeps some people from becoming anything. - The Passionate State of the Mind, 1954.
The fear of becoming a 'has-been' keeps some people from becoming anything. - The Passionate State of the Mind, 1954.
When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous read more
When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.
Despair and misery are static factors. The dynamism of an uprising flows from hope and pride. Not actual suffering but read more
Despair and misery are static factors. The dynamism of an uprising flows from hope and pride. Not actual suffering but the hope of better things incites people to revolt.
Self-righteousness is a loud din raised to drown the voice of guilt within us.
Self-righteousness is a loud din raised to drown the voice of guilt within us.
Rudeness luxuriates in the absence of self-respect.
Rudeness luxuriates in the absence of self-respect.
When the weak want to give an impression of strength they hint menacingly at their capacity for evil. It is read more
When the weak want to give an impression of strength they hint menacingly at their capacity for evil. It is by its promise of a sense of power that evil often attracts the weak.
The less satisfaction we derive from being ourselves, the greater is our desire to be like others.
The less satisfaction we derive from being ourselves, the greater is our desire to be like others.
The fact is that up to now a free society has not been good for the intellectual. It has neither read more
The fact is that up to now a free society has not been good for the intellectual. It has neither accorded him a superior status to sustain his confidence nor made it easy for him to acquire an unquestioned sense of social usefulness. For he derives his sense of usefulness mainly from directing, instructing, and planning- from minding other people's business- and is bound to feel superfluous and neglected where people believe themselves competent to manage individual and communal affairs, and are impatient of supervision and regulation. A free society is as much a threat to the intellectual's sense of worth as an automated economy is to the workingman's sense of worth. Any social order that can function with a minimum of leadership will be anathema to the intellectual.
