Rarely does a book come along that, whilst presenting an entirely new way of thinking about a situation, can so resonate with what one is already thinking. On page after page of this book, which I could hardly put down, the author’s ideas and theories made so much sense that I would highly recommend it to anyone who has despaired at the mess the whole Covid-19 debacle has thrown up. (In fact, I’d want to insist that everyone reads it, whether despairing or not, for it will both confirm and challenge what many people think they know.)

This is not a Christian book. It is a book about psychology (with lashings of physical science and mathematical theories carefully explained for the layman), written by a foremost professor in clinical psychology at Ghent University, who also practises as a psychoanalytic psychotherapist. Nonetheless, it is pleasingly surprising in its conclusions for an author who doesn’t appear to be religious. But back to that later.

Group hypnosis on a global scale

Desmet carefully and painstakingly takes the reader on a journey to explain his main theory – which is that so much of the mind-boggling reaction to Covid 19 was in fact a (global) population in thrall to ‘mass formation’ – in essence, a form of group hypnosis – as a consequence of underlying free-floating anxiety across entire populations caused by the predominant mechanistic worldview in which everything can be explained by ‘science’ and physical causes. This is not in fact a new phenomenon – such scenarios led to the totalitarian societies that we have seen, particularly in the last hundred years, such as Stalinism and Nazi Germany, while Desmet also makes reference to the French Revolution.

The author explains in his introduction that, “Totalitarianism is not a historical coincidence. In the final analysis, it is the logical consequence of mechanistic thinking and the delusional belief in the omnipotence of human rationality. As such, totalitarianism is the defining feature of the Enlightenment tradition.”

He spells out in no uncertain terms his belief that this has not been deliberately orchestrated – rather, a symptom of people’s desperation for control.

Like many, he has fears for the future, in terms of moves even further towards technocratic control of populations. Yet he spells out in no uncertain terms his belief that this has not been deliberately orchestrated – rather, a symptom of people’s desperation for control.

As Desmet explains, human communication is full of ambiguities, misunderstandings and doubts, which we interpret whilst being in company. Yet we seek for certainty, whether by withdrawing behind a screen, or by seeking symbols that provide the certainty we crave – which is nonetheless impossible to attain. This is crucial for understanding what comes next.

A phenomenon from within the population

Desmet begins the reader’s journey with an introduction that highlights his growing awareness of a new totalitarianism – back in 2017 – when he began to draft out the idea for this book. He highlights the grip of governments on private life, and the way alternative voices were being suppressed (citing the climate debate).

He then goes on to say: “It was not only governments behind these developments, however. The rapid emergence of ‘woke’ culture and the growing climate movement was giving rise to the call for a new, hyper-strict government that emerged from within the population itself.” He explains that totalitarianism has its roots in the phenomenon of mass formation, which is “in essence, a kind of group hypnosis that destroys individuals’ ethical self-awareness and robs them of their ability to think critically.”

The effects of an ideological science

The first five chapters then look at science and the problems connected with it. The author begins Chapter one, Science and Ideology, by going right back to Galileo, and his discoveries which kickstarted the Enlightenment. It turned men away from religious discourse and towards the way that man, by simply observing the world, could obtain knowledge through logic.

He looks at the way in which data can be interpreted in multiple ways – manipulated, often unconsciously, by prejudices and poor use of measuring tools.

Not that Desmet is anti-science – his conclusions are fully based on scientific principles. As he describes, science, as it began in that time, was about open-mindedness, “open to the greatest possibility of ideas and thoughts, assumptions and hypotheses. It cultivated doubt and considered uncertainty a virtue”.

But then science became an ideology – think of the theory of evolution, for example, or the ‘settled science’ of the climate movement. He looks at the way in which data can be interpreted in multiple ways – manipulated, often unconsciously, by prejudices and poor use of measuring tools.

By Chapter 3, Desmet articulates the effects that much of this has had on society. He particularly points out the literal dislocation caused by the industrial revolution, wherein communities were disrupted, and how work went from something that you created for a neighbour in your community to something that you helped produce for a faceless individual you would never meet. “Labor changed from a cumbersome but inherently meaningful existential task into a disembodied utilitarian necessity.”

Disconnection between people

This began the “atomization” of individuals, disconnecting people from one another. This has been turbo charged in more recent times, from the proliferation of administrative jobs that serve little purpose – “meaningless work” – to the disconnection caused by technology which doesn’t allow for the multiple ways in which we communicate when talking in person with others. Hopes have been placed on a utopian, technological solution to the problems inherent in the human condition, with a yearning for authority. In sum, this first section shows us how we got to where we are.

Mass formations have been around for a long time, but were generally local and short-lived. With the rise of mass media, these grew, forming into the huge and devastating movements of Nazism and Stalinism.

The middle section is focused on what has been going on – the concept of mass formation, which relies on the atomisation of people, who feel anxious because of their dislocation from each other and who seek that sense of solidarity, of connection. Mass formations have been around for a long time but were generally local and short-lived. With the rise of mass media, these grew, forming into the huge and devastating movements of Nazism and Stalinism.

Solidarity over reason

With Covid 19, mass formation became global. The free-floating anxiety felt by so many people found a common enemy – the virus. In this, people felt a sense of solidarity – ‘We’re all in it together’. And all the latent fear, frustration and aggression is also taken out on the group that refuses to go along with the story and the mass formation.

Desmet describes how (as seen in experiments), around 30% will be utterly convinced by a narrative in a mass formation, another 40-50% will not be quite sure, but will go along with it – and only a small number will see the delusion. These people will be perplexed – and typically will come to the only obvious conclusion: that it has been deliberately orchestrated.

Desmet goes on to explain that typically, however, the leaders in any such delusion will be themselves deluded. He returns to the concept of prejudice in numbers and measurements to point that the ‘experts’ themselves are biased in their interpretations of data, as they become subsumed in the narrative and mass hypnosis – revealing “a maze of errors, sloppiness, and forced conclusions, in which researchers unconsciously confirm their ideological principles”. There may indeed be some who seek to take advantage of the situation, but the cause is, essentially, organic and from the people themselves.

All the latent fear, frustration and aggression is also taken out on the group that refuses to go along with the story and the mass formation.

On reading Desmet’s middle chapters, I found that this gave, better than anything I have come across, the clearest explanation of the phenomena that I have observed – a mass delusion which bore no relation to real critical thinking, which only a few seemed to be able to do, and whose voices were either ignored or silenced.

The solution – in part

It is in the final chapters that Desmet offers his solution to what he sees as the dangerous situation that we are in, given that the conditions remain for totalitarianism. It is in part hugely surprising and far reaching, yet, as a Christian reader, I can see that it does not go far enough. Yet as an offering to a society so much divorced from its religious heritage, it does indeed go a long way.

Using science and psychology as a basis, Desmet shows how these point to something much greater than the materialistic ideology that has impoverished us on a personal level – he points to the design behind even the most surprising of occurrences in the world. He clearly points to a God behind the universe, and also the need to embrace uncertainty, to be able to unlock the creativity in us (which, although not stated directly, is implied as God-given). He says: “The ultimate knowledge lies outside of man. It vibrates in all things. And man is able to receive it, by tuning his vibrations, like a string, to the frequency of things”, whether through science, artisanal craftsmanship, art or poetry.

The real solution

And this is where I believe that Desmet needs to go further on the journey that he is already on. He is seeking God, yet it is the God of the Bible that is seeking him. He points to the connections that we need to nurture with each other, and the need to abandon the materialistic ideology we have lived with for so long, which even science itself has shown to be utterly wrong. He also fails to recognise that the psychological dimension that he outlines, and which has been dismissed for too long, also has a spiritual dimension, including malign spiritual forces.

Many historians recognise that the key factor in England not going the same way as France was the Wesleyan revival.

Desmet talks a little of the French Revolution as an example of mass formation, with a totalitarian outcome. Yet many historians recognise that the key factor in England not going the same way as France was the Wesleyan revival. A revival which brought connection to the people, connection with the God of the Bible, a God who makes Himself known, and a deep connection with others through the class system.

Desmet’s solution at the end points to the need of a ‘god’ of some sort. Those who are believers realise that it is a personal God that we need – a God that we can know, One who made Himself incarnate – along with the beauty of true fellowship in a Church that seeks to embody Him. Whatever its shortcomings, which are understandable in their context, this book goes a very long way in pointing people in the right direction.

‘The Psychology of Totalitarianism’ (256pp) is published by Chelsea Green Publishing and is available from Amazon for £17.00 (inc p&p).