What is Mass Formation?
Why some people think it is a concern today.
You may have heard of the recent controversy surrounding podcaster/comedian Joe Rogan as he has been accused of distributing Covid19 misinformation. These charges arose because of interviews he performed with Dr. Peter McCullough, a well-known cardiac specialist from Houston, and with Dr. Robert Malone, who holds nine of the earliest patents for the mRNA delivery mechanism.
Primarily, it was the interview with Dr. Malone that sparked the charges. In that interview, along with lengthy discussion of mRNA technology and a multitude of Covid19-related topics, he spent about 3 minutes (out of ~2 hours) introducing the concept of Mass Formation. The interview, and especially this topic, triggered a ‘rigorous discussion’ on the internet. The interaction became so heated that online mainstream media (MSM) sources posted notices flatly denying the existence of Mass Formation.
The internet tumult over this topic indicates that a nerve was touched. How this nerve was touched, though, is of particular interest because it appears to have revealed at least a shadow of something influencing our society, if not a real condition. In light of the emotion surrounding this, an exploration of its elements is justified.
Mass formation is a social psychology expression for what is normally referred to as mob or crowd behavior. This branch of social psychology has been studied by many psychologists, including Sigmund Freud.
According to Dr. Mattias Desmet, a professor of psychology from Ghent University in Belgium, Mass Formation requires the following conditions to emerge:
Many people experiencing a lack of connectedness with others, leading to loneliness.
Lack of meaning making in people’s lives, for example, unable to find meaning in one’s job or unable to establish or maintain social bonds.
High levels of free-floating anxiety, which arises when we do not understand what is creating the anxiety.
Free floating aggression and frustration, that cannot be tied to a specific cause.
Per Dr. Desmet, these four factors lead to adoption of a narrative. If that narrative creates a mental image that can be understood, the shared image can lead to a new social bond that allows people to feel connected again. Because of this rediscovered connection, people will accept the narrative even if they cannot logically justify it. Once the new social bond is established, the next step in Mass Formation is for those bonded to turn against those choosing not to accept the narrative.
Dr. Malone brought up Mass Formation because online interviews with Dr. Desmet had previously raised the topic. I have listened to Dr. Desmet discuss this concept in a few interviews. I found his description of the psychology of crowd formation particularly interesting, even more-so in light of his assertions that all humans are susceptible to this mental state. Apparently, it is an inherent aspect of our brain/mind/emotional design.
Of the interviews I have heard, I prefer the following interview of Dr. Desmet by Chris Martenson from PeakProsperity.com. It is about an hour long but well worth a listen for understanding this concept.
While many interesting ideas are raised by Dr. Desmet in this interview, I was particularly struck by the idea that, for our current situation, the narrative is used as a tool for shifting from a democratic culture to a technocratic culture, and that in the minds of those promoting the narrative, a movement toward technocracy is essential for humanity’s survival in the face of climate change, resource depletion, environmental damage, etc. I see growing evidence for this technocratic push as society becomes increasingly mechanized and digitized. This movement toward technocracy is consequential, so I plan to write about in the future.
I would point out that the leadership culture of the Soviet Union was technocratic, attempting to control the entire society mechanistically through data gathering, controlled pricing, and government edicts/requirements. Studies of the Soviet model clearly show technocracy fails as a human governance system. I see that being due to humans having individual needs and free will, and that an important reason democracy is preferred by citizens is because the freedom democracy allows resonates with our inherent needs as humans. Technocracy, by its nature, is disconnected from nature - both the plant and animal world as well as disconnected from human nature.
In this discussion, Dr. Desmet and Chris Martenson explored the narrative around Covid. I can recall times when I was caught up in a narrative and because of that, made decisions or followed paths that ended up not working out, without realizing the narrative was flawed, so I realize how easy it is to fall into a narrative.
“The enemy is fear. We think it is hate, but it is really fear”.
Gandhi
Upon thinking about the idea of Mass Formation, I wondered if there were examples existing today that might illustrate the requirements needed for Mass Formation to develop. I came upon the following Twitter thread written by someone working at a major tech firm and was floored by what I read, because it pointed to these exact conditions.
A Silicon Valley Insider’s Twitter Thread
This thread was subsequently deleted from Twitter by the author because of threats he received. Before that happened, though, it garnered a wide audience. Someone else consolidated it and posted it to the link above. Here are some excerpts that caught my eye:
I work in Big Tech. A name you would know and have probably used before.
Wanted to give a rundown of what it’s like from the inside right now. Obviously insanely radically leftwing. BLM/LGBTQ. Trans flags hanging in the office. Pronouns are stated before meetings. Special affiliation groups for everyone but white men. All that you’d expect.
But COVID/WorkFromHome (WFH) has totally broken people.
They are fundamentally weak, often with no social support outside of work.
They’re the people with no children, no spouse. Only a dog or cat for emotional support.
There’s constant talk, even now, about how hard things are for everyone. Often meetings start with going around the room to ask “How is everyone feeling?”
Literally, everyone else went on sad rants about their lives. “I’m so MAD a white supremacist shot 3 black men in Kenosha!”
It’s toxic. When it got to me, I said “Good.” and then a (((lady engineer))) literally proposed that we should not be allowed to answer the question positively. I shit you not.
I think it hurt her that I wasn’t as miserable as her.
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Everyone is demoralized.
This may surprise you since Big Tech is extremely well paid and has been able to WFH throughout the past 2 years. They’ve been given extra days off, extra stipends, bonuses, etc.
They never had to fear being laid off.
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The new employees don’t get enough attention to succeed. And the employees that stay end up with a load of work dumped by the former coworkers, plus the responsibility of onboarding the new ones.
There are many software engineers who’ve not written a single line of code in the past year.
While the Woke agitation has slowed due to the productive employees’ ability to simply log off, in addition to the tiredness of the agitators, there is more and more open rebellion regarding pay and profits.
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People have increasingly been taking “Mental Health Days”. Sometimes they’re using sick days, many times they don’t. It’s just a free vacation, unaccountable. I have no doubt half the time they ARE used for one of the 3 leading causes of mental illness:
– Anxiety
– Depression
– Leftism
Initially, I thought this thread was a one-off. After all, how could all of big tech survive with a culture described in this thread? Therefore, I was shocked by how many comments from others described very similar cultures at other tech companies – and even pointed to such conditions at industries beyond big tech. The entire thread is worth reading for a perspective on big tech culture.
The corporate culture described in this thread was 180 degrees from what I experienced during over 35 years in the electric utility industry. Any employee exhibiting the behaviors described here would have been fired in short order. Companies in competitive industries cannot survive financially with this sort of culture. It left me thinking, “these are the people controlling the social media platforms. Hmm…”
What is relevant to the concept of Mass Formation in this thread though, is that three of the elements needed for its creation are illustrated:
Lack of connectedness with others
Lack of meaning making in people’s lives and jobs
High levels of anxiety
Is this why the internet exploded when the topic of Mass Formation was raised?
I feel sorry for these people. While no work culture is perfect – I have experienced some dysfunctional ones myself – what is described here is almost beyond hope of repair.
Reflecting on this, I conclude that I must consider the needs of these people demanding others to conform. What is really driving their behavior? It appears these people are lost from their moorings in the sense that they cannot connect their own perceived needs with the needs of others. Because of this, they demand others think and act like them.
I think this is rooted in an inability to recognize their need for self-compassion. How can they overcome this? Through learning compassion – first with themselves, such that it can next be extended to others.
Psychologist believe that those who lack compassion, do so because they did not learn that skill – perhaps they did not experience it themselves in their early years. While their physical needs may have been well met, their true emotional needs were left wanting. This is supported by studies from the 1980’s on rats, which showed that rats raised from birth in isolation became more aggressive than rats raised in groups. In many ways, mammalian brains and behaviors mimic one another, because these behaviors are seen in tests with other mammals.
This problem can be solved with family and social environments where a balance is placed on blended support of mental, emotional, and physical needs of the child. When parents obsess over the physical needs, a gap opens in the other areas that tends to be filled with the influences of the culture. This sets the stage for the ‘that kid got in with a bad crowd’ scenario.
The mind of a young child is highly malleable. This is one of the most important insights I gleaned from my two years in the Peace Corps because I realized how, by being raised in a certain culture, patterns of thinking and behavior will develop that can be consequentially different than the patterns learned by growing up in a different culture.
The mental and emotional patterns formed during this period of malleability become rigid over time if they are not challenged. If later challenged once rigid, a great effort is made to defend the structure of learned dysfunctional patterns, thus the behaviors exhibited above can be explained.
Should the rigidity melt, a breakdown often ensues, leading to a crisis period that takes time to heal as the mind and emotions reconstruct into a healthier pattern, which is supported by the capabilities of the, now more cognizant, adult mind to grasp and resolve.
The resolution to this dilemma, therefore, resides more than anything else, in physical, mental, and emotional contact with other humans, preferably the parents, from birth until the period of greatest pattern malleability, which lasts till approximately five years of age.
What this means is that direct human contact, family, and face-to-face group activities are the simplest balms for healing the divisions that lead to Mass Formation. Lockdowns and isolation only exacerbate an already existing condition. I am thankful I grew up in a close-knit, nuclear family. These days, not everyone has that opportunity.
If you are interested in learning more about Mass Formation, the topic is well presented in this animated video by the group After Skool, titled ‘Mass Psychosis - How an Entire Population Becomes MENTALLY ILL’. This video provides an illustrative description of this concept, but from a somewhat different perspective, including discussion of the role of narrative confusion and technology in fostering the condition.
When I watch this video, I am reminded of the government propaganda posters I saw frequently in China showing cartoon people. I called them ‘propaganda munchkins’. At the time, I didn’t understand why they wanted people to always be represented as little cartoon characters, as if they were toddlers. I now suspect that those cartoon people were intended to express an image to the public that they are childlike, and therefore need the advice and control of the state.
It’s never fun to be manipulated. I can speak from personal experience that it can be harder to admit that I have been manipulated or misled than it is to manage any negative consequences, financial or otherwise, of the manipulation.
As a final thought on this topic, it is interesting to note that, per the CDC, the third most damaging Covid-19 comorbidity (after obesity and diabetes) is anxiety disorder.
In the next newsletter, I want to talk about how we can work to heal the social divisions created by the factors described here.
The Twitter thread is gold. Having recently worked at a semiconductor company that of course includes tech workers, even though you're talking real engineers who have to accomplish real work to get products made and supported or the company fails, there was still plenty of left wing B.S. like supporting transvestites and of course the "Diversity & Inclusion" mantra. (Just sit down and shut up if you're a white male.) Not nearly as much as places like Google and FascistBook, but still some corporate HR emails that in so many words were encouraging men to come to work wearing dresses, for example. (That was the only conclusion I could come up with based on the language used.)
I saw your comment over in Berenson's Substack about not voting democrat any more, and I was wondering what the final straw was for you. Pretty much no left wing policies or ideals have ever appealed to me, so it's interesting to learn what the red pill was for people who used to be on the other side.