Jamie Glasov Explains: Why the Left is Just Plain Nuts

Note: I previously posted this article under the heading "The Psychological Pathologies of the Far Left." Then I remembered that most Americans voted for Barack Obama and are too dumb to know what that means. So retitled my article in simpler English that means the same thing and have reposted it here.

I started reading my new book last night. It’s by Jamie Glasov and is entitled “United In Hate,” about the coalition between the far left and militant Islam (see my previous post below on the subject). The book is good at explaining the mind set and the psychology of the far left. That mind set includes:

1. Self-hatred or self-loathing, leading to a desire to efface the self, to submerge the individual into the anonymity of the masses where personal identity and responsibility disappear. In the most extreme case, the leftist desires death, especially dying for the cause, as that goal gives him a tremendous sense of significance and purpose.

2. Estrangement from society as a whole, leading to sympathy for antagonistic or hostile systems that the leftist imagines will fulfill all of his psychological needs. Since he hates his own society he is naturally sympathetic to other systems that share his hate.

3. The desire for a political system where the individual will feel validated and empowered and given a feeling of purpose. The most powerful systems thrill him the most, particularly those that engage in mass killing and oppression. By identifying with these systems he attains a vicarious feeling of power. Glasov notes that both Stalin and Mao enjoyed their greatest praise and pilgrimages from western leftists precisely at the peak of their mass murder and oppression.

4. Guilt for being well off. Self-hating leftists imagine themselves to be victims of a society that has failed to provide them with a feeling of fulfillment or purpose; they naturally identify with other “victims.” However, western leftists live in the most prosperous nations on earth, and it is hard to feel like a victim under those circumstances. So they make unreasonable demands on the power structure so they can picket and march and preach hate of the establishment. They especially like to be arrested as this adds to their desired feeling of victimhood.

Glasov takes several key ideas from Eric Hoffer’s classic “The True Believer.” Just understanding the psychology of self-destructive leftists is worth the price of the book. I will write more about this book as I finish it.