Mass formation is a psychological state of collective hypnosis occurring when a population adheres to a specific narrative distributed via mass media.
This condition necessitates the presence of four social preconditions:
- General social isolation
- A lack of meaning in life
- Free-floating anxiety
- Free-floating frustration or aggression.
These factors allow individuals to attach their internal distress to a concrete object identified by the state or media. The resulting bond prioritises the collective over all individual interests and ethical considerations.
This phenomenon results in radical self-sacrifice and intense intolerance toward any dissenting perspective. Individuals in this state lose their individual critical thinking abilities, and will accept absurd narratives even when confronted with contradictory evidence.
The Psychological Prerequisites for Mass Formation
Loneliness is the primary condition for the emergence of mass formation. In the United Kingdom, a minister of loneliness was appointed to address widespread social isolation. Up to sixty percent of the global population reports feeling lonely and connected only through the internet. The United States surgeon general declared a loneliness epidemic in 2017.
For those should who don't know Christ, social isolation leads to a lack of meaning and purpose in life. Human beings experience meaning when they feel their existence has a tangible effect on others. Without social connection or faith in God, individuals struggle to find a reason for their activities.
At least half of the population considers their professional work to be meaningless. Research indicates that fifty percent of the global population classifies their employment as a bullshit job. This lack of purpose generates free-floating anxiety that is not attached to a specific cause, a commodity for authoritarian regimes to exploit.
In Belgium, the population consumes three hundred million doses of antidepressants annually. This illustrates high levels of free-floating psychological discontent within modern society. One in five people worldwide suffers from a diagnosed anxiety disorder. These states of distress are followed by free-floating frustration and aggression.
Historical Origins and the Rationalist Worldview
Mass formation became a dominant social force following the metaphysical revolution of the 17th century. This period sadly replaced Christian frameworks with a rationalist and materialist philosophy. The universe was redefined as a mechanical system composed of elementary particles.
The human being was reduced to a biological entity or a cog in a larger industrial machine. This shift prioritised material survival and the avoidance of pain over ethical considerations. Suffering, and therefore redemption was suppressed. This resulted in a widespread loss of theosis, meaning, purpose and social connection.
Industrialisation too, furthered the atomisation of the population. Modern technology allows narratives to be infused into isolated households, creating lonely masses. These masses are much more susceptible to control than physical crowds.
Modern democracy uses propaganda as an organising principle because the population does not behave rationally. The founding fathers of modern democracy recognised that citizens are driven by emotional manipulation. Propaganda targets the emotions of the population to ensure conformity.
Mechanism of the Collective Ritual
Mass media narratives indicate specific objects of anxiety and offer a strategy to address it. This provides this free-floating anxiety with a target to connect with and focus on some concrete representation. Then the population experiences a sense of control over their internal distress through this connection, there is some order to cling to in all the chaos.
Mass Formation functions as a collective ritual. These rituals often lack practical utility or scientific effectiveness. The absurdity of the ritual actually enhances its function as a social bond.
During the corona crisis, measures such as mask wearing and lockdowns functioned as rituals. Participation in the ritual demonstrates that the collective interest is superior to the individual. This process creates a new kind of solidarity among isolated individuals.
The participants experience a state of mental intoxication that reinforces their adherence to the narrative. This intoxication is the real reason people stick to the narrative even when it is harmful. They are willing to sacrifice their material wellbeing and personal interests to maintain the social bond.
Feed the Machine
Totalitarianism relies on mass formation as its fundamental psychological architecture. This system is distinct from a classical dictatorship, which maintains power through the physical threat of a small regime. Totalitarian states are built upon a fanatical portion of the population that adheres blindly to a state ideology.
This fanatical group typically comprises 20 to 30 percent of the total population. Their fanaticism leads to radical self-sacrifice for the sake of the narrative. Members of the mass act as an informal secret police by reporting dissenters to the state.
A larger segment, consisting of 40 to 60 percent of the population, follows the narrative to avoid social exclusion or persecution. This majority remains silent even when they recognise the absurdity of the state claims. A small minority of approximately 1 to 10 percent remains outside the state of hypnosis and actively speaks out.
The power of social pressure was demonstrated in the experiments of Solomon Asch. Participants were shown lines of different lengths and asked to identify which were equal. When collaborators gave the wrong answer, 70 percent of participants eventually conformed to the incorrect consensus.
Modern democracy functions through the systematic application of propaganda as its primary organising principle.
The architects of modern democracy recognised that the initial premise of a rational citizenry was a fatal mistake.The democratic system operates as the opposite of its stated ideals of freedom and rational choice. It is a system where the population is managed through daily psychological manipulation.
Modern propaganda represents the return of emotional trickery and techniques that were suppressed during the early formation of democratic ideals.
The Vulnerability of the Intellectual Class
High levels of formal education actually increase vulnerability to mass formation. Highly educated individuals possess a greater desire for social conformism. The educational system functions as an indoctrination mechanism that prepares people for state propaganda.
The expert's role in society is often reduced to that of a professional technician who lacks wisdom outside a specific field, it is intelligence deprived of moral values. Expert's are selected for use based on their opinion and that opinion's value to the regime in any given situation or moment.
The expert's identity and cognitive functioning are subsumed by group psychological processes. Once gripped by a mass formation, the expert is unable to take a critical distance from the group's beliefs. They will refuse to drop a narrative even when it is proven to be false.
Experts also frequently suffer from blindness to statistical reality during a mass formation. During the corona crisis, initial statistical models predicted 60,000 deaths in Sweden if no lockdown occurred. Only 6,000 deaths were recorded by May 2020, yet the narrative remained unchanged. The narrative had to persist.
The replication crisis in the sciences reveals that 85 percent of published papers are false. Highly intelligent academics continue to use these invalid methods due to groupthink. The narrative has to persist. Conformity to social ideal images is prioritised over the pursuit of objective truth.
This expert blindness occurs because cognitive functions are subsumed by the collective psychological process. Intellectuals often prioritise their social standing within the group over empirical evidence. They become tools for the propagation of the state narrative rather than truly independent thinkers.
The Solution
The primary resistance to mass formation is the practice of sincere speech. Individuals who are not hypnotised must continue to articulate their perspective.
Speaking the Truth disturbs the state of collective hypnosis.
This speech prevents the mass from reaching the final stage of total dehumanisation. The act of speaking the truth strengthens the soul of the speaker. Truth speech destroys appearances and delusions, connecting people in the real world.
Resistance also involves the creation of parallel structures outside the state system. These structures allow individuals to survive and maintain their humanity during the period of collapse. Parallel structures include small shops, independent media, and community gatherings.
Loyalty to ethical principles and humanity is essential for survival during a mass formation. Totalitarian systems are inherently self-destructive and eventually collapse under their own weight. Sincere speech ensures that a different way of living remains possible after the system fails.
Taken from Mattias Desmet’s book: The Psychology of Totalitarianism.