Ideologies are one of the most popular forms of human thought ever developed, attracting huge numbers of followers worldwide. There are 2.3 billion Christians in the world today, 2.0 billion Muslims, 1.2 billion Hindus, .5 billion Buddhists, and hundreds of millions of people expressing support for nationalism, imperialism, racism, ethnocentrism, and Communism. When you think about it, these numbers are simply staggering. It certainly would be fair to ask why these ideologies are so widely accepted, especially given that they have caused so much human suffering.
One of the experts on this subject is Dr. John Jost, a Professor at NYU and the author of the book, The Social and Psychological Basis of Ideologies. He has done extensive research on the subject of what drives ideological acceptance. Jost’s one sentence summary description of his findings is: “Ideologies arise from epistemic, existential, and relational motives to reduce uncertainty, threat, and social discord.”* Now, this is a rather academic statement. So, I will restate it in simpler terms, by defining what epistemic, existential, and relational motives are.
First, his term epistemic motives addresses the reality that uncertainty and doubt are very unsettling for most people. We all dread the thought of facing an uncertain world alone. To cope, we need to have a well-defined set of rules to guide us through our lives and remove our doubts about what to believe and what to do. Ideologies can help with that.
Second, his term existential motives refers to the reality that daily life and existence are amazingly difficult for us all. We want to be relieved of the substantial anxiety and fear that we feel every day. We desperately want guidance; and we need assistance in dealing with the harsh reality of our inevitable death! Many of us turn to ideologies to help us address these problems.
Third, his term relational motives addresses both self-esteem and the social acceptance difficulties. These issues focus on the reality we have tremendous ego needs and a strong desire to elevate our sense of self-worth, especially by being part of a special group or mission. Ideologies can make us feel better about ourselves and give us a strong social identity.
The reality is that anything that helps people address these three fundamental life issues is going to get a hearing. My book, Path to Power, Road to Ruin, provides simplified examples of how this need and fear-based approach plays out in real life--first using religious ideologies, and then using a political ideology--to demonstrate how the three types of needs work to target and attract followers.
Religious ideologies build a following by making a set of promises that specifically address the three categories of human needs and fears discussed above. For example:
- They assuage the fear of death and reduce existential anxiety by promising eternal life in paradise for those who faithfully obey their rules.
- They build their loyal supporters’ self-esteem by telling them that God loves them.
- They reduce doubt and uncertainty by offering their followers the security and certainty of an inerrant doctrine that is decreed by an omnipotent God.
- They create communities of like-minded believers to give their followers a sense of belonging by establishing places of worship where all can pray together.
Then, moving onto a political ideology, consider how Adolf Hitler targeted people’s most intense needs and fears. For example:
- He gave Germans hope by promising that he would create a new German empire and restore their national pride.
- He assured his people that he would conquer and eliminate Germany’s enemies, i.e., the Bolsheviks, Jews, and the Slavs.
- He said he would create a racial utopia that would hold only people of Aryan blood, with all inferior races and people being, enslaved, relocated, or destroyed.
- He inflated the identity of the German people by telling them that they were the “Master Race” and destined to rule the world.
- He promised that the uncertainty and chaos that had characterized the years before he came to power would be a thing of the past and that order and justice would prevail.
As you can see, both of these types of ideologies, even Hitler’s sick and demented thinking, were constructed to gain followers by directly appealing to their most basic needs and fears. It is important to note that these needs and anxieties are part of all of us. They are part of the human condition. This reality makes us very susceptible to ideological appeals, whether they are really in our interests or not, whether they are true or not, and whether they are beneficial or not. And, in most cases, they are not. But that is not the question here.
The only issue for most people is how well ideologies serve needs and tamp down fear and anxiety. Judging by their immense popularity, we would have to say that they have been a huge success. The big problem is that these benefits come at a great cost to humanity in terms of their consequences, which, as we indicated in previous posts, have historically been quite severe. This reality should cause us to be very careful about embracing ideologies going forward.
*Jost, The Social and Psychological Bases of Ideology and System Justification, Oxford University Press, Page 213