Tag Archives: Eric Hoffer

From Eric Hoffer (1902–1983), American writer on social and political philosophy, The Passionate State Of Mind, and Other Aphorisms (1955):

The weakness of a soul is proportionate to the number of truths that must be kept from it.

From Eric Hoffer (1902– 21 May 1983) American writer on social and political philosophy, The True Believer: Thoughts On The Nature Of Mass Movements (1951):

Unless a man has talents to make something of himself, freedom is an irksome burden. Of what avail is freedom to choose if the self be ineffectual? We join a mass movement to escape individual responsibility, or, in the words of the ardent young Nazi, “to be free from freedom.” It was not sheer hypocrisy when the rank-and-file Nazis declared themselves not guilty of all the enormities they had committed. They considered themselves cheated and maligned when made to shoulder responsibility for obeying orders. Had they not joined the Nazi movement in order to be free from responsibility?