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CULTS OF PERSONALITY

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2014

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Abstract

The nineteenth century saw frequent appeals to the idea of a redeemer personality, a heroic leader – musings which culminated in the cults devoted to Hitler and Stalin. This article shows that the self-assertion of leaders can stimulate the self-abasement of the followers on whom they depend (and vice versa), and discusses in what circumstances such an interplay becomes dominant in a society, and with what advantages and disadvantages for it.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Institute of Philosophy 2014 

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