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Eric Hoffer

Eric Hoffer Quotes

Philosopher

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Famous Eric Hoffer Quotes

“In man's life, the absence of an essential component usually leads to the adoption of a substitute. The substitute is usually embraced with vehemence and extremism, for we have to convince ourselves that what we took as second choice is the best there ever was. Thus blind faith is to a considerable extent a substitute for the lost faith in ourselves; insatiable desire a substitute for hope; accumulation a substitute for growth; fervent hustling a substitute for purposeful action; and pride a substitute for an unattainable self-respect.”

MenSelfActionDesireChoicesLostGrowthPrideEssentialsBlindAbsenceSelf RespectConvinceSubstitutesAdoptionComponentsAccumulationExtremismHustleInsatiableBlind FaithUnattainableFerventLost FaithVehemenceSecond Choice
Book:Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer
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“In a trader-dominated society, the scribe is usually kept out of the management of affairs, but it given a more or less free hand in the cultural field. By frustrating the scribe's craving for commanding action, the trader draws upon himself the scribe's wrath and scorn.”

HandsActionGivenFieldsDrawsManagementAffairWrathFrustratingCravingScornTradersScribes
Book:Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer
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“When watching men of power in action it must be always kept in mind that, whether they know it or not, their main purpose is the elimination or neutralization of the independent individual- the independent voter, consumer, worker, owner, thinker- and that every device they employ aims at turning men into a manipulable animated instrument which is Aristotle's definition of a slave.”

KnowsMenMindActionPurposeIndividualAimIndependentInstrumentsSlaveWorkersDefinitionsConsumersOwnersDevicesVotersThinkerAnimatedEliminationIndependent Voters
Book:Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer
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“We know that words cannot move mountains, but they can move the multitude; and men are more ready to fight and die for a word than for anything else. Words shape thought, stir feeling, and beget action; they kill and revive, corrupt and cure. The "men-of-words"- priests, prophets, intellectuals- have played a more decisive role in history than military leaders, statesmen, and businessmen.”

KnowsMenFeelingsActionMovingDiesFightingLeaderRolesSocietyMilitaryHe ManReadyShapesMountainCuresProphetPriestsMultitudesBusinessmanStatesmenBegetsReviveMove MountainsMilitary Leader
Book:Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer
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“The vigor of a mass movement stems from the propensity of its followers for united action and self-sacrifice. When we ascribe the success of a movement to its faith, doctrine, propaganda, leadership, ruthlessness and so on, we are but referring to instruments of unification and to means used to inculcate a readiness for self-sacrifice. It is perhaps impossible to understand the nature of a mass movement unless it is recognized that their chief preoccupation is to foster, perfect and perpetuate a facility for united action and self-sacrifice.”

MeanSelfActionUsedPerfectUnitedImpossibleSacrificeSocietyMovementMassInstrumentsDoctrineChiefsPropagandaFollowersStemFacilityReadinessSelf SacrificeVigorReferringPreoccupationPropensityUnificationRuthlessness
Book:THE TRUE BELIEVER
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“When hopes and dreams are loose in the streets, it is well for the timid to lock doors, shutter windows and lie low until the wrath has passed. For there is often a monstrous incongruity between the hopes, however noble and tender, and the action which follows them. It is as if ivied maidens and garlanded youths were to herald the four horsemen of the apocalypse .”

IfsWellsDreamActionLyingFourDoorsStreetsYouthLowsWindowNobleLocksApocalypseWrathMonstrousMaidensHopes And DreamsShuttersHorsemenIncongruityFour HorsemenFour Horsemen Of The Apocalypse
Book:The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements
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“[The designated or chosen leader tries to] articulate and justify the resentment dammed up in the souls of the frustrated. He kindles the vision of a breathtaking future so as to justify the sacrifice of a transitory present. He stages the world of make-believe so indispensable for the realization of self-sacrifice and united action.”

WorldTryingBelieveSoulSelfActionUnitedLeaderVisionSacrificeStageChosenRealizationJustifyResentmentFrustratedIndispensableSelf SacrificeKindlesMake BelieveTransitoryBreathtaking
Author:Eric Hoffer
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“The individual's most vital need is to prove his worth, and this usually means an insatiable hunger for action. For it is only the few who can acquire a sense of worth by developing and employing their capacities and talents. The majority prove their worth by keeping busy.”

NeedsMeanActionIndividualTalentProveCapacityMajorityBusyHungerDevelopingAcquireInsatiableEmployingInsatiable Hunger
Book:Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer
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“The leader personifies the certitude of the creed and the defiance and grandeur of power. He articulates and justifies the resentment damned up in the souls of the frustrated. He kindles the vision of a breath-taking future so as to justify the sacrifice of a transitory present. He stages a world of make-believe so indispensable for the realization of self-sacrifice and united action.”

WorldBelieveSoulSelfActionLeadershipUnitedLeaderVisionSacrificeStageBreathsRealizationJustifyResentmentCreedsFrustratedIndispensableGrandeurDefianceSelf SacrificeKindlesMake BelieveTransitoryCertitude
Author:Eric Hoffer
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“Perhaps a modern society can remain stable only by eliminating adolescence, by giving its young, from the age of ten, the skills, responsibilities, and rewards of grownups, and opportunities for action in all spheres of life. Adolescence should be a time of useful action, while book learning and scholarship should be a preoccupation of adults.”

LifeGivingShouldBookAgeActionYoungOpportunityResponsibilityLearningModernTenSkillsAdultsRewardsSpheresStableAdolescenceScholarshipPreoccupationModern SocietyEliminatingGrownupsBook Learning
Author:Eric Hoffer
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“Imitation is often a shortcut to a solution. We copy when we lack the inclination, the ability or the time to work out an independent solution. People in a hurry will imitate more readily than people at leisure. Hustling thus tends to produce uniformity. And in the deliberate fusing of individuals into a compact group, incessant action will play a considerable role.”

PeoplePlayActionIndividualAbilityRolesGroupsProduceMindfulnessSolutionsIndependentIndependenceWork OutCopiesLeisureImitationInclinationDeliberateHustleShortcutsUniformityIncessantCompact
Book:THE TRUE BELIEVER
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“There is nothing more explosive than a skilled population condemned to inaction. Such a population is likely to become a hotbed of extremism and intolerance, and be receptive to any proselytizing ideology, however absurd and vicious, which promises vast action.”

ActionPromisePopulationAbsurdIdeologyIntoleranceViciousExtremismInactionExplosivesReceptiveProselytizing
Book:Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer
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“All mass movements generate in their adherents a readiness to die and a proclivity for united action; all of them, irrespective of the doctrine they preach and the program they project, breed fanaticism, enthusiasm, fervent hope, hatred and intolerance; all of them are capable of releasing a powerful flow of activity in certain departments of life; all of them demand blind faith and singlehearted allegiance.”

ActionCertainDiesUnitedPowerfulSocietyMovementActivityDemandProjectsMassCapableProgramFlowHatredBlindDoctrineEnthusiasmDepartmentIntoleranceFanaticismAllegianceReadinessBlind FaithFervent
Book:THE TRUE BELIEVER
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