The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements (Perennial Classics)

This disappearance had many repercussions. If humans can be approximated as rational economic actors (and, ultimately, even Adam Smith and Karl Marx agree on this point), then those who seek glory in the name of God or country appear odd; but if such odd people are commonplace and capable of asserting themselves with explosive force, then the accou... See more

"El fanático está perpetuamente incompleto e inseguro. No puede generar seguridad en sí mismo a partir de sus recursos individuales —de su yo rechazado— sino que la encuentra sólo aferrándose apasionadamente a cualquier apoyo que se le presente. Este apego apasionado es la esencia de su devoción ciega y su religiosidad, y ve en él la fuente de toda... See more

The longer the mood is contemplated, the more insistent the appeal. It is a form of fanaticism, to be sure, but that may not be a vote against it. In all action there is operative a fringe of irrationality. Once the mood is thoroughly established, any council of caution is interpreted as either compromise or cowardice. The fact that the ruler has a

... See more