Eric Hoffer Quotes
Hatred is the most accessible and comprehensive of all unifying agents.
Eric Hoffer, 1902-1983, Philosopher and Critic The True Believer, 1951
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Describing the bitter situation when Theodore Roosevelt contested William Howard Taft for the Republican 1912 presidential nomination:
This explains why demagogues usually choose scapegoats or politicians often turn subgroups against each other or find a dangerous enemy that all can hate.
Many people have believed that the Nazis introduced anti-Semitism into German society and politics. This quotation is one of the very many what show that anti-Semitism was rife in Germany before Hitler ever came to power—back to the Dark Ages. The Nazis recognized it and took advantage of it by ascribing all of Germany’s ills to the Jews, knowing full well that there was underlying public opinion that would make that a good tactic.
Eric Hoffer was an American moral and social philosopher. He was the author of ten books and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in February 1983. His first book, The True Believer (1951), was widely recognized as a classic, receiving critical acclaim from both scholars and laymen, although Hoffer believed that The Ordeal of Change was his finest work.
