Neutrality Studies Top-Expert REVEALS: EU in Grip of Deadly Mass-Formation | Prof. Mattias Desmet
16 snips
May 4, 2026 
Prof. Mattias Desmet, a clinical psychologist and author of The Psychology of Totalitarianism, explains mass formation, how loneliness and ritualized fear bind people to collective narratives, and why modern media and education can amplify propaganda. He discusses how mass belief seizes states, war narratives shift public focus, and sincerity and renewed social bonds can help break the spell.
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Mass Formation Explains Expert Blindness
- Mass formation explains how highly intelligent people adopt absurd beliefs when group-level processes override individual critical thinking.
- Mattias Desmet links this to his finding that expert blindness occurs when people join a collective narrative and become unable to take critical distance.
Totalitarianism Emerges From Mass Formation
- Totalitarianism differs from dictatorship because it arises from mass formation in the population, not solely from coercive power.
- Desmet describes 20–30% of a population becoming fanatically loyal and willing to report nonconformists, creating secret-police-like social surveillance.
Iran Example Shows Familial Betrayal In Masses
- Desmet recounts Iran 1978 where a mother reported her son and later accepted a medal for her act.
- He uses this to illustrate how mass formations convert private bonds into loyalty to the collective and secret-police behavior.
