Skip to content
  • Home
  • Shop
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Login
View cart
  • Login
Close
  • Home
  • Shop
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
Home The Psychology of Totalitarianism - Paperback
The Psychology of Totalitarianism
  • Books,
  • Fascism & Totalitarianism,
  • Philosophy & Social Aspects,
  • Political Ideologies,
  • Political Science,
  • Price Written on Book,
  • Psychology,
  • Science,
  • Social Psychology,

The Psychology of Totalitarianism - Paperback

Original price $32.95 - Original price $32.95
Original price
$32.95
$32.95 - $32.95
Current price $32.95
| /
Availability: In Stock
SKU 9781645022756
  • Description
  • Reviews ()

Additional information

Report copyright infringement

by Mattias Desmet (Author)

"This is an amazing book . . . [Desmet is] one of the true geniuses I've spoken to . . . This book has really changed my view on a lot."--Tucker Carlson

"[Desmet] is waking a lot of people up to the dangerous place we are now with a brilliant distillation of how we ended up here."--Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

The world continues to exist in the grips of mass formation--a dangerous, collective type of hypnosis--as 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.


Desmet's work on mass formation theory was brought to the world's attention on
The Joe Rogan Experience and in major alternative news outlets around the globe. Read this book--now in paperback, ebook, and audiobook--to get beyond the sound bites!

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.
With detailed analyses, examples, and results from years of research, Desmet lays out the steps that lead toward mass formation, including:


  • An overall sense of loneliness and lack of social connections and bonds
  • A lack of meaning--unsatisfying "bullsh*t jobs" that don't offer purpose
  • Free-floating anxiety and discontent that arise from loneliness and lack of meaning
  • Manifestation of frustration and aggression from anxiety
  • Emergence of a consistent narrative from government officials, mass media, etc., that exploits and channels frustration and anxiety

In addition to clear psychological analysis--and building on Hannah Arendt's essential work on totalitarianism, The Origins of Totalitarianism--Desmet offers a sharp critique of the cultural groupthink that exists throughout society. He cautions against the dangers of our current cultural landscape, media consumption, and reliance on manipulative technologies and then offers simple solutions--both individual and collective--to prevent the willing sacrifice of our freedoms.

"We can honor the right to freedom of expression and the right to self-determination without feeling threatened by each other," Desmet writes. "But there is a point where we must stop losing ourselves in the crowd to experience meaning and connection. That is the point where the winter of totalitarianism gives way to a spring of life."

"One of the most important books I've ever read."--Ivor Cummins, The Fat Emperor Podcast

Author Biography

Mattias Desmet is recognized as the world's leading expert on the theory of mass formation as it applies to the COVID-19 pandemic. He is a professor of clinical psychology in the Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences at Ghent University (Belgium) and a practicing psychoanalytic psychotherapist. His work has been discussed widely in the media, including on The Joe Rogan Experience and in Forbes, The New York Post, Salon.com, and Fox News, among hundreds of other outlets. His interviews have been viewed by millions of people around the world. His previous books include The Pursuit of Objectivity in Psychology and Lacan's Logic of Subjectivity: A Walk on the Graph of Desire. Desmet is the author of over one hundred peer-reviewed academic papers. In 2018 he received the Evidence-Based Psychoanalytic Case Study Prize of the Association for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, and in 2019 he received the Wim Trijsburg Prize of the Dutch Association of Psychotherapy.

Number of Pages: 240
Dimensions: 0.7 x 8.7 x 5.7 IN
Publication Date: September 12, 2024

You may also like

  • !Búscalo! (Look It Up!): A Quick Reference Guide to Spanish Grammar and Usage

    !Búscalo! (Look It Up!): A Quick Reference Guide to Spanish Grammar and Usage - Hardcover

    In stock

    Report copyright infringementby William M. Clarkson (Author)A novel approach--very useful for quick reference.--Mark Goldin Associate Professor of ...

    View full details
    Original price $39.52 - Original price $39.52
    Original price
    $39.52
    $39.52 - $39.52
    Current price $39.52
    | /
    Original price $39.52 - Original price $39.52
    Original price
    $39.52
    $39.52 - $39.52
    Current price $39.52
    | /
  • !Búscalo! (Look It Up!): A Quick Reference Guide to Spanish Grammar and Usage

    !Búscalo! (Look It Up!): A Quick Reference Guide to Spanish Grammar and Usage - Paperback

    In stock

    Report copyright infringementby William M. Clarkson (Author)"A novel approach-very useful for quick reference." --Mark Goldin, Associate Professor...

    View full details
    Original price $24.92 - Original price $24.92
    Original price
    $24.92
    $24.92 - $24.92
    Current price $24.92
    | /
    Original price $24.92 - Original price $24.92
    Original price
    $24.92
    $24.92 - $24.92
    Current price $24.92
    | /
  • "...and the Mille Lacs who have no reservation...": A history of the Chippewa Indians in Mille Lacs County, Minnesota up to 1934

    "...and the Mille Lacs who have no reservation...": A history of the Chippewa Indians in Mille Lacs County, Minnesota up to 1934 - Paperback

    In stock

    Report copyright infringementby Clarence Ralph Fitz (Author)The book chronologically explains the bungling of the federal government as they attemp...

    View full details
    Original price $44.44 - Original price $44.44
    Original price
    $44.44
    $44.44 - $44.44
    Current price $44.44
    | /
    Original price $44.44 - Original price $44.44
    Original price
    $44.44
    $44.44 - $44.44
    Current price $44.44
    | /
  • "8emessourit" 'The River of the Big Canoes': A Large, National, River Ecosystem in Peril

    "8emessourit" 'The River of the Big Canoes': A Large, National, River Ecosystem in Peril - Hardcover

    In stock

    Report copyright infringementby Lawrence Walter Hesse (Lars) (Author)The River of the Big Canoes is a powerful and sobering exploration of the ecol...

    View full details
    Original price $47.41 - Original price $47.41
    Original price
    $47.41
    $47.41 - $47.41
    Current price $47.41
    | /
    Original price $47.41 - Original price $47.41
    Original price
    $47.41
    $47.41 - $47.41
    Current price $47.41
    | /
  • "A Problem from Hell": America and the Age of Genocide

    "A Problem from Hell": America and the Age of Genocide - Paperback

    In stock

    Report copyright infringementby Samantha Power (Author)Winner of the Pulitzer Prize!An impassioned critique of America's repeated failure to stop g...

    View full details
    Original price $32.99 - Original price $32.99
    Original price
    $32.99
    $32.99 - $32.99
    Current price $32.99
    | /
    Original price $32.99 - Original price $32.99
    Original price
    $32.99
    $32.99 - $32.99
    Current price $32.99
    | /
Shop collection
Infinity Light

#TurnPagesLightJourneys


Dedicated to enriching lives through accessible, high-quality books that inspire growth and imagination.

Main menu

  • Home
  • Shop
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Our Policies

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Shipping Policy
  • Return & Refund Policy
  • FAQ`s

Follow us

Find us on Facebook Find us on Threads Find us on Telegram Find us on Instagram Find us on LinkedIn Find us on Twitter
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Shipping Policy
  • Return & Refund Policy
  • FAQ`s

Copyright © 2026 INFINITY LIGHT, LLC. All rights reserved.

  • Amazon
  • American Express
  • Apple Pay
  • Diners Club
  • Discover
  • Google Pay
  • Mastercard
  • Shop Pay
  • Visa
  • Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.
  • Opens in a new window.