The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements

Hoffer notes that the intensely frustrated often come from the ranks of the poor, outcast, or criminal, for these individuals see no value in the present and are ready to sacrifice it for nearly anything different. In Part 2, he examines the “disaffected,” who fall into one or more of eleven different categories (25).

Section 1: “The New Poor”

The new poor are those to whom poverty is a recent experience. These people “throb with the ferment of frustration” and thus make some of the most fanatical converts to a mass movement (26).

Section 2: “The Abjectly Poor”

The abjectly poor already live purposeful lives because they struggle daily for their next meal. They have no time to think of anything else, so they do not dream of the future. Only those who believe they are close to something better will flock to mass movements.

Section 3: “The Free Poor”

The free poor often feel the burden of responsibility that accompanies freedom. Mass movements offer them an escape from that responsibility.

Section 4: “The Creative Poor”

Those who find satisfaction in creativity tend to escape the degree of frustration that drives others toward mass movements.

Section 5: “The Unified Poor”

Those who already belong to a close-knit group, such as a family or tribe, tend to avoid mass movements.