Well-reasoned, Jim. I was noticing that Political Ponerology has several episodes analyzing PT. Here are some quotes he includes, which I think prove your point but he seems to agree with:
For Desmet, “The whole of society has a part in [totalitarianism’s] rise in one way or another; every person bears a responsibility in it” (PT, p. 139). "... the people most responsible for the early stages of ponerogenesis are not evil per se. They are just weak. And that weakness provides the opening for unimaginable evil." (PP)
"Finally, a note on the utopian attractor function of ideology, as the motivating force for the “change agents” bringing totalitarian revolution. The vagueness of the notion is its greatest strength—like a societal Rorschach test. The masses latch on to it as the means to end their anxiety, vent their aggression, and achieve the “justice” they feel they have been denied. The attractor is simple: a better world, otherwise undefined." (PP)
Please read Rene Girard and the Traditionalists for a deeper analysis of why Desmet is right about Enlightenment rationalism producing the conditions he describes. (The conspirators are hyper-rationalists duping the spiritually-bereft multitudes.)
Well-reasoned, Jim. I was noticing that Political Ponerology has several episodes analyzing PT. Here are some quotes he includes, which I think prove your point but he seems to agree with:
For Desmet, “The whole of society has a part in [totalitarianism’s] rise in one way or another; every person bears a responsibility in it” (PT, p. 139). "... the people most responsible for the early stages of ponerogenesis are not evil per se. They are just weak. And that weakness provides the opening for unimaginable evil." (PP)
"Finally, a note on the utopian attractor function of ideology, as the motivating force for the “change agents” bringing totalitarian revolution. The vagueness of the notion is its greatest strength—like a societal Rorschach test. The masses latch on to it as the means to end their anxiety, vent their aggression, and achieve the “justice” they feel they have been denied. The attractor is simple: a better world, otherwise undefined." (PP)
Thought these were interesting for making your point more pointed. https://ponerology.substack.com/p/the-psychology-of-totalitarianism-8a8.
Please read Rene Girard and the Traditionalists for a deeper analysis of why Desmet is right about Enlightenment rationalism producing the conditions he describes. (The conspirators are hyper-rationalists duping the spiritually-bereft multitudes.)