Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.
-- Eric Hoffer (Paraphrased by Pat Buchanan)
⬆ #Wisdom #Quotes #EricHoffer #GreatCauses #Politics
⬇ #Photography #Panorama #Panopainting #Seashells #Everglades #Florida
A man by himself is in bad company.
Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 262 (1955)
More about this quote: wist.info/hoffer-eric/82543/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #erichoffer #beingalone #feedback #perspective #self #solitude
“We feel free when we escape—even if it be but from the frying pan into the fire.” — Eric Hoffer, The Passionate State of Mind
#EricHoffer #QOTD #QUotation #Quote #Escape
https://yahooeysblog.wordpress.com/2026/03/05/quote-of-the-day-5447/
Much of man’s thinking is propaganda of his appetites.
Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 261 (1955)
More about this quote: wist.info/hoffer-eric/82357/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #erichoffer #appetite #desire #emotion #irrationality #passion #propaganda #selfdeception #selfdelusion #thinking #thought
We are more ready to try the untried when what we do is inconsequential. Hence the fact that many inventions had their birth as toys.
-- Eric Hoffer
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You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you.
-- Eric Hoffer
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Propaganda does not deceive people; it merely helps them to deceive themselves.
Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 260 (1955)
More about this quote: wist.info/hoffer-eric/19134/
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“In his 1951 The True Believer: Notes on the Nature of Mass Movements, philosopher #EricHoffer noted that once people are wedded to a #strongman, they will cling to him ever more tightly as his behavior becomes more and more #erratic.”
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:5zca2ola2zxpkw37w4f3wxtu/post/3mfr676o2cs2w
“A #doctrine insulates the devout not only against the realities around them but also against their own selves. The #fanatical #believer is not conscious of his envy, malice, pettiness and dishonesty. There is a wall of words between his #consciousness and his real #self.” - #EricHoffer
However much we guard ourselves against it, we tend to shape ourselves in the image others have of us. It is not so much the example of others we imitate, as the reflection of ourselves in their eyes and the echo of ourselves in their words.
-- Eric Hoffer
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Rudeness is the weak man’s imitation of strength.
Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 241 (1955)
More about this quote: wist.info/hoffer-eric/16794/
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We usually see only the things we are looking for — so much so that we sometimes see them where they are not.
Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 238 (1955)
More about this quote: wist.info/hoffer-eric/17639/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #erichoffer #bias, delusion #expectation #falsepositive #focus #pareidolia #preconception #prejudice #vision
You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you.
Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 222 (1955)
More about this quote: wist.info/hoffer-eric/1912/
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I think it's true - the reaction most of us feel against a Bad Other is stronger than our impulse to pursue any Good; at least when it comes to cooperating with other people.
It's significant, too, that he wrote this in the middle of Cold War polarization and not long after the Second World War.
#psychology #demonization #demonisation #religion #atheism #politicalphilosophy #erichoffer #quote #quotes #quotation
To spell out the obvious is often to call it into question.
Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 220 (1955)
More about this quote: wist.info/hoffer-eric/17459/
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The real persuaders are our appetites, our fears, and above all our vanity. The skillful propagandist stirs and coaches these internal persuaders.
Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 218 (1955)
More about this quote: wist.info/hoffer-eric/19720/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #erichoffer #appetite #appetites #darkside #ego #fear #passions #persuasion #pride #propaganda #vanity
It is a perplexing and unpleasant truth that when men already have "something worth fighting for," they do not feel like fighting. People who live full, worthwhile lives are not usually ready to die for their own interests nor for their country nor for a holy cause. Craving, not having, is the mother of a reckless giving of oneself. "Things which are not" are indeed mightier than "things that are." In all ages men have fought most desperately for beautiful cities yet to be built and gardens yet to be planted... It is strange, indeed, that those who hug the present and hang on to it with all their might should be the least capable of defending it. And that, on the other hand, those who spurn the present and dust their hands of it should have all its gifts and treasures showered on them unasked.
-- Eric Hoffer
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To know a person’s religion we need not listen to his profession of faith but must find his brand of intolerance.
Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 215 (1955)
More about this quote: wist.info/hoffer-eric/81262/
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When cowardice is made respectable, its followers are without number both from among the weak and the strong; it easily becomes a fashion.
Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 203 (1955)
More about this quote: wist.info/hoffer-eric/81117/
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #erichoffer #acceptability #acquiescence #cowardice #cowardliness #fashion #fear #respectability #socialcontract #socialill #timidity #weakness
We ought to beware of people who do not think it necessary to pretend that they are good and decent. Lack of hypocrisy in such things hints at a capacity for a most depraved ruthlessness.
Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 200 (1955)
More about this quote: wist.info/hoffer-eric/80863/
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