The Psychology of Totalitarianism

By: Mattias Desmet

Narrated by: Dan Crue

We bear witness to loneliness, free-floating anxiety, and fear giving way to censorship, loss of privacy, and surrendered freedoms. It is all spurred by a singular, focused crisis narrative that forbids dissident views and relies on destructive groupthink.

Totalitarianism is not a coincidence and does not form in a vacuum. It arises from a collective psychosis that has followed a predictable script throughout history, its formation gaining strength and speed with each generation—from the Jacobins to the Nazis and Stalinists—as technology advances. Governments, mass media, and other mechanized forces use fear, loneliness, and isolation to demoralize populations and exert control, persuading large groups of people to act against their own interests, always with destructive results.

In The Psychology of Totalitarianism, world-renowned Professor of Clinical Psychology Mattias Desmet deconstructs the societal conditions that allow this collective psychosis to take hold. By looking at our current situation and identifying the phenomenon of “mass formation”—a type of collective hypnosis—he clearly illustrates how close we are to surrendering to totalitarian regimes.

©2022 Mattias Desmet (P)2022 Dreamscape Media, LLC

The Essence of Today

Wow! Fantastic book. Comfort in Chaos? Is control and our mechanistic view the answer? Let’s embrace diversity of thought and our own creativity to life!

Important words to read and hear

Though a bit on the technical side, this book gives an excellent frame through which to view today's global culture.

Eye-opening journey to a satisfying end

It gets better and better as the book progresses. Incorporating history, psychology, science, culture and more, it’s an eye-opening journey that everyone should take. In a word: excellent!

Excellent book that’s appropriate for these times

Even if you are already awake, this has new insights. Highly recommend everyone reads this.

Mind Blowing

I feel almost stunned by what I learned from reading this book. Desmet’s knowledge of the human psyche as well as very complex science which he articulates so well is incredible. That someone understands what is going on in our world today based on a lifetime of study and research is so incredibly helpful. The breadth of the knowledge from which he draws on is extremely impressive. You will learn so much from this book it will blow your mind. If there is only one book that you will read in the next decade, read this book.