True Believers by Eric Hoffer looks at not only those that join mass movements but also those that lead the movements. There is a lot of truth to what Hoffer says in the book. One of the most interesting thought about why mass movements succeed or fail. His point is the only way to draw a revolution can be successful is if the leaders can maintain a nationalist fervor among their followers. If you look at the revolution that have worked and those that failed it seems to hold true. The Nazis, Bolsheviks, our revolution, all had the common thread of a continuous belief in nation. The French, the Chinese students, most failed revolutions all seem to fall apart because leaders can’t maintain the peoples fervor. Leaders have to maintain a belief in the people that their cause is right and true. The nation will be better off with this truth as the basis of the nation. It takes charismatic leaders combined with a disaffected mass to pull off this feat. The more people who are stable in their beliefs or content with their station in life will be less likely to rebel, but they will fight against the rebels. This stability is why the Confederacy didn’t win, they could not bring enough people to their side to provide the needed soldiers or supplies to maintain the rebellion. Also, Jefferson Davis was not the charismatic leader the people needed. Robert E. Lee held the faith and imagination of the people for the longest. Once he surrendered, nothing was going to keep the rebellion together. Name a revolution that wasn’t nationalistic and you will find a rarity.
A very good point …
I would argue too that WWI & WWII were won by the sides that were able to maintain a nationalistic fervor (generally via propaganda that demonized the enemy) for the longest.
And … I know for a fact that the WWII propaganda was effective. I still remember my grandfather saying hateful things about “Japs” and there has been a small uproar here about VW building their new plant in town, because after all, the Beetle was Hitler’s brainchild and conceived under the Nazi government, etc!
I’m getting something of a personal lesson in this locally, in trying to lead the Mac & PHP Developer groups, and the Libertarian Party. It takes more than just dedication to make things happen … you have to make people believe in you.
It is amazing the fervor people feel for certain causes. Living in the South leads to the most obvious sign, the continual flying of confederate battle flags. Of course, I think if the Southerners knew how the North would treat them during reconstruction then the war may have continued longer.