Cults Of Personality Quotes

“It can certainly be misleading to take the attributes of a movement, or the anxieties and contradictions of a moment, and to personalize or 'objectify' them in the figure of one individual. Yet ordinary discourse would be unfeasible without the use of portmanteau terms—like 'Stalinism,' say—just as the most scrupulous insistence on historical forces will often have to concede to the sheer personality of a Napoleon or a Hitler. I thought then, and I think now, that Osama bin Laden was a near-flawless personification of the mentality of a real force: the force of Islamic jihad. And I also thought, and think now, that this force absolutely deserves to be called evil, and that the recent decapitation of its most notorious demagogue and organizer is to be welcomed without reserve. Osama bin Laden's writings and actions constitute a direct negation of human liberty, and vent an undisguised hatred and contempt for life itself.”
― Christopher Hitchens, The Enemy

“The formation of Stalin’s character is particularly important because the nature of his rule was so personal.”
― Simon Sebag Montefiore, Young Stalin

“People in a cult don't know they're in a cult. But everyone else can tell.”
― Oliver Markus Malloy, Inside The Mind of an Introvert

“It had often struck Facecream how cults, whether of a political or religious nature, always preached equality and happiness while fostering fear. It had been the same with the Maoists, who relied so heavily on women and children to fill their ranks. Party propaganda spoke endlessly about the Communist ideal of equality, while hierarchy maintained strict discipline and unquestioning allegiance.”
― Tarquin Hall, The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing