Getting Smart Through Reading The Psychology of Totalitarianism.

Totalitarianism does not happen by accident and does not arise out of thin air.

It is the result of a widespread insanity that has developed over time in a predictable pattern, gaining intensity and speed with each generation—from the Jacobins to the Nazis and the Stalinists—as technology develops.

Fear, loneliness, and isolation are used by governments, the media, and other mechanical forces to demoralize individuals and exercise control, causing enormous numbers of people to act against their own interests and invariably with negative outcomes.

Professor of Clinical Psychology Mattias Desmet, a well-known expert in this field, dissects the social factors that enable this collective insanity to take root in his book The Psychology of Totalitarianism.

The Psychology of Totalitarianism

He makes it abundantly evident how close we are to submitting to totalitarian governments by analyzing the current situation and recognizing the process of "mass formation," which is a form of mass hypnosis.

Desmet outlines the steps that contribute to mass formation with thorough analyses, examples, and findings from years of research, including:

1. a general feeling of loneliness and a lack of links and interactions with others,

2. Lack of meaning—distracting "bullsh*t jobs" without a sense of direction

3. drifting uneasiness and unhappiness brought on by meaninglessness and loneliness

4. Anxiety-related manifestations of annoyance and hostility

5. Emergence of a recurrent narrative from public figures, the media, etc. that capitalizes on and channels annoyance and worry

Desmet provides a scathing critique of the cultural "groupthink" that existed previous to the epidemic and developed during the COVID crisis in addition to providing a clear psychological diagnosis and expanding on Hannah Arendt's seminal work on totalitarianism, The Origins of Totalitarianism.

He issues warnings about the perils of our current social structure, media consumption, and reliance on deceptive technologies before providing straightforward solutions—both personal and societal—to stop the willful surrender of our liberties.

Desmet argues, "We can respect the right to free expression and the right to self-determination without feeling threatened by one another." But there comes a time when we must stop blending in with the crowd in order to find purpose and connection. At that time, authoritarianism begins to give way to a spring of life.

Buy the book from Amazon The Psychology of Totalitarianism https://a.co/d/2EnPnZT