Glenn Diesen - Greater Eurasia Podcast Mattias Desmet: The West's Descent Toward Totalitarianism
May 13, 2026
Mattias Desmet, professor of psychology at the University of Ghent and author on mass psychology and totalitarianism. He discusses mass formation, how loneliness and free‑floating anxiety drive collective narratives, COVID and Ukraine as examples of narrative switching, propaganda’s emotional logic, technocratic drivers of soft totalitarianism, and why calm dissent and speaking out matter.
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Mass Formation Creates The Core Of Totalitarianism
- Mass formation is a group phenomenon where 20–30% of the population fanatically adopts an ideology, enabling a totalitarian state without classic dictatorship violence.
- Individuals in the mass lose critical distance, become willing to self‑sacrifice, and grow intolerant enough to report relatives to the state.
Loneliness Turns Anxiety Into Mass Mobilization
- Loneliness and meaninglessness fuel free‑floating anxiety that lacks an identifiable object, making populations receptive to narratives that offer a target and solution.
- Desmet links rising loneliness (up to ~40% reporting isolation) to stronger mass formations that convert anxiety into ritualized collective action.
Ritualized Solutions Give Belonging And Control
- Mass formation works by offering an object of anxiety (e.g., a virus or enemy) plus a ritualized strategy, producing both control over fear and a revived sense of connection.
- Rituals like mask wearing or vaccination function as belonging signals, replacing interpersonal bonds.
