Extremist Mass Movement Pattern

ExtremistMassMovementPattern describes a pattern of SelfReplicatingMemeSystems that describe extremist mass movements. Some historical examples follow.

The pattern is:

P:
P1: The [villain] is/are [wronging] the [victim].
P2: It is your duty to protect the [victim] (usually implicit).

Some historical villains and a corresponding extremist mass movement are:

Capitalists: MarxismMovement?
Communists: McCartheyismMovement?
Imperialists: SovietSocialismMovement?
Jews: NazismMovement?
Freemasons: FreemasonConspiracyMovement?
Aristocrats: FrenchRevolutionMovement?
Men: WomensMovement?
Women: MensMovement?
Foreigners: IsolationistMovement?

Tom Stambaugh

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... survival is a fundamental biological trait and instinct, which, in humans, surfaces to the level of survival of societies and abstract ideals. Biology depends not on rationalizations, but on complex forces such as emotions, territorial conflict and polarization, fueled by primitive animosity, balanced by a drive to protect one's possessions and family. Ideals aren't subject to the obvious forces of animal territorialism: food, shelter, and access to water. In fact, "idealistic territorialism" isn't subject to any real forces beyond idealogies, so it needs other mechanisms to survive.

Therefore: Create dissatisfaction in a proletariat, based on structures that are difficult to fulfill (universal wealth or ubiquitous peace or justice). Blame the status quo on an anti-hero or devil, and focus the proletariat's energies on that devil. The proletariat will become motivated to move toward the ideal, while blaming the devil; since the ideal is rarely attainable, the movement propels itself forward in perpetuity. This is MassMovementPsychology?.

-- JimCoplien

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minor nitpick - an anti-hero is not the opponent, he is the protagonist who is not heroic -- Pete Hardie

See BrunoTheBandit.

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See http://www.politizen.com/wiki.asp?ExtremistMassMovementPattern

The above link is broken

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You know, nothing on this page has any explanatory, prescriptive, or even descriptive value whatsoever. How is ExtremistMassMovement? different from MainstreamMassMovement? or from ExtremistSmallMovement? or even MainstreamSmallMovement?? For that matter, how is UsingAllOfTheseBloodyFuckingCaps? HelpfulTowardsUnderstandingAnything??

Far more helpful would have been pointing out that all groups have a tendency towards irrationality marked by paranoia, idealization and personalization. Further, that larger groups are more irrational because the rationality of the individual is less accessible. And finally, that large scale conflict is often mediated by child-parent images and words (such as the Communists being father-destroyers). But then, any one of these points would have required foregoing the distinctly unhelpful "memes" schtick.

No it wouldn't.