Professor Mattias Desmet is a professor of Clinical Psychology at Ghent University in Belgium and a practicing psychoanalytic psychotherapist. He also has a Master’s degree in Statistics. He is the author of “The Psychology of Totalitarianism”. He articulated the theory of mass formation as it applies to the Covid-19 pandemic. He is the world’s expert on the phenomenon of mass formation.
In this episode we discuss the following:
-Prof. Desmet explains how he came to the conclusion that what he was seeing in the world around him in early 2020 was a Mass Formation. He explains what a Mass Formation is, what are the characteristics of it, what were the conditions that enabled it to occur during the Corona Crisis.
-Prof. Desmet wrote a book “The Psychology of Totalitarianism” which was first published in English in May 2022, identifying the Mass Formation that currently exists, and warning that humanity is being led into a reality of technocratic totalitarianism.
-A mechanistic ideology is in place at present, what is this?
-The role of anxiety. What is this anxiety where people do not know why they are anxious. How can you control it? How does this play a part in the Mass Formation.
-In this Mass Formation, people have formed a solidarity to the collective and NOT to each other. What does this mean. How dangerous is this?
-Rituals can be seen in this Mass Formation, eg mask wearing , and vaccination. What part do rituals play?
-There is a hypnosis in this Mass Formation. Prof. Desmet explains the power of hypnosis.
-Parallels exist between the Totalitarianism of Nazism, the Soviet Union, and now the Corona Crisis.
-Who are the secret police in the Corona Crisis. What is the significance of the secret police, and how this is important in totalitarianism.
-The role of the elite in this Mass Formation.
-We discuss who are the dissenters? They did not fall prey to the Mass Formation, why not?
-Transhumanism, is this an inevitable outcome of the mechanistic ideology. This is being openly discussed by Yuval Harari. Harari says humans are on the verge of having a God like status.
-Are we headed towards the universal acceptance of assisted dying.
-Why has freedom become a burden for people? Why do people need an authoritarian institution to provide directions and take the burden of freedom and the associated insecurity off their shoulders?
-Are our leaders in the grip of this Mass Formation. Do they believe in the ideology, and do they also believe in the narrative that they keep repeating.
-How do we end this Mass Formation, how significant are our voices? What are the ramifications if dissident voices stop and the only voice we hear is that of our leaders.
-We discuss the recent Italian Election in September. The new Prime Minister is against Vaccine mandates, she says it is unconstitutional and fit for a totalitarian regime. Is it possible that Italians are breaking out of the Mass Formation?
-American psychiatrist Peter Breggin and his wife Ginger Breggin have formulated a harsh criticism of Prof Desmet’s book. We discuss this and Prof. Desmet points out that the elite are discussed in his book, they are just not the focus of the book. Prof. Desmet has written a response to the criticism which is in his substack, referenced below.
-Prof Desmet concludes with a request to keep speaking out and looking for truth.
Websites and papers referenced in the interview.
Prof Mattias Desmet Substack
https://mattiasdesmet.substack.com/
Am I an expert in Mass Formation or a Trojan Horse? Response to Breggin and Breggin (Part 1)
https://mattiasdesmet.substack.com/p/am-i-an-expert-in-mass-formation
Books referenced in the interview.
Mattias Desmet, The Psychology of Totalitarianism (2022)
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/60430391-the-psychology-of-totalitarianism
Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism (London: Penguin books, 1951)
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/396931.The_Origins_of_Totalitarianism
Gustave LeBon, The Crowd, a study of the popular mind (1896) (2014 reprint).
https://www.bookdepository.com/Crowd-Gustave-Le-Bon/9781614275992
