Mass Movements

The True Believer contains a number of aphorisms or maxims. An example of one of Hoffer's maxims is this: A man is likely to mind his own business when it is worth minding. When it is not, he takes his mind off his own meaningless affairs by minding other people's business. This book touches on a number of ideas. One of the most powerful ideas involves the way Hoffer describes how individuals gravitate into mass movements such as religious fundamentalism, Communism, and Nazism. Hoffer describes this as a process in which individuals give up their sense of personal self-worth and transfer it into a movement they perceive to represent a greater good. Hoffer suggests that self-hatred, self-doubt, and insecurity are at the root of fanaticism in mass movements. He also writes that people who claim to seek to better the fate of all mankind are usually motivated not by selflessness but by selfishness.

Hoffer believes that the free or autonomous man is the true hero of any society. He challenged readers to accept the idea that free men are heroes because they are aware of the imperfection inherent in human affairs, but are wiling to fight and die if necessary to protect society despite its faults. Hoffer suggests that some basic human problems can have no solutions. He adds that ideals such as freedom, justice, and equality are neither absolute, nor readily achievable.

The individual that Hoffer describes as