The True Believer

Preface . . . ix PART ONE. THE APPEAL OF MASS MOVEMENTS 1. The Desire for Change . . . 13 2. The Desire for Substitutes . . . 21 3. The Interchangeability of Mass Movements . . . 25 PART TWO. THE POTENTIAL CONVERTS 4. The Role of the Undesirable in Human Affairs 5. The Poor . . . 31 . . . . The New Poor . . . 31 . . . . The Abjectly Poor . . . 32 . . . . The Free Poor . . . 35 . . . . The Creative Poor . . . 38 . . . . The Unified Poor . . . 38 6. Misfits . . . 49 7. The Inordinately Selfish . . . 51 8. The Ambitious Facing Unlimited Opportunities . . . 51 9. Minorities . . . 52 10 . The Bored . . . 53 11. The Sinners . . . 55 PART THREE. UNITED ACTION AND SELF-SACRIFICE 12. Preface . . . 57 13. Factors Promoting Self-sacrifice . . . 60 . . . . Identification with a Collective Whole 60 . . . . Make-believe . . . 64 . . . . Depreciation of the Present . . . 66 . . . . "Things Which Are Not" . . . 73 . . . . Doctrine . . . 75 . . . . Fanaticism . . . 79 . . . . Mass Movements and Armies . . . 83 14. Unifying Agents . . . 85 . . . . Hatred . . . 85 . . . . Imitation . . . 94 . . . . Persuasion and Coercion . . . 97 . . . . Leadership . . . 103 . . . . Action . . . 111 . . . . Suspicion . . . 114 . . . . The Effects of Unification . . . 116 PART FOUR. BEGINNING AND END 15. Men of Words . . . 119 16. The Fanatics . . . 130 17. The Practical Men of Action . . . 134 18. Good and Bad Movements . . . 138 . . . . The Unattractiveness and Sterility of the Active Phase . . . 138 . . . . Some Factors Which Determine the Length of the Active Phase . . . 142 . . . . Useful Mass Movements . . . 147 Notes . . . 152