Hoffer and the “True Believer” When president Dwight D. Eisenhower referred to Eric Hoffer’s The True Believer in a nationally televised address in the 1950s, the public must have thought that mentioning the works of the “longshoreman philosopher” in a formal address to the nation was an extremely unexpected action. Surprisingly, Hoffer’s work would be thoroughly studied and regarded as a superior example of advanced sociological and philosophical thought for years to come. …showed first 75 words of 980 total…

…showed last 75 words of 980 total…true believer who is wholly assimilated into a compact collective body is no longer frustrated. He has found a new identity and a new life. He is one of the chosen, bolstered and protected by invincible powers, and destined to inherit the earth. His is a state of mind the very opposite of that of the frustrated individual (Hoffer, 126). Is being a “true believer” in the midst of a mass movement such a bad thing?