The Mass Psychology of Fascism - Anxiety Depression Self-Help

individual who has gone through a sex-suppressing upbringing. When some cultural organizations in the Catholic
West of Germany refused to take part in the sex-economic fight against mysticism because, as they said, they had
met with no success, this does not disprove my concept; it only shows the apprehensiveness, the fear of sexuality
and the sex-economic inexperience of those who tried the undertaking, and the lack of patience and thoroughness
in understanding and mastering a very complicated situation. If I were to tell a Christian woman who is in sexual
difficulties that she was sexually ill and that only sexual happiness would relieve her psychic suffering, she
would, rightly, show me the door. Not only does every individual have contradictions in himself which one must
understand; the problem is different in different countries and different districts, and therefore requires different
solutions. Undoubtedly, these difficulties will diminish with increasing sex-economic experience, but only
practical endeavor can eliminate them. The most important thing is to realize the correctness of our basic formula
and to comprehend the true nature of the difficulties. Mysticism having dominated humanity for thousands of
years, it can expect of us beginners that we do not underestimate it, that we comprehend it correctly and show
ourselves better informed and cleverer than its representatives.
4. THE INDIVIDUAL ERADICATION OF THE MYSTICAL FEELING
A comprehension of the biopsychic anchoring of mysticism can provide guiding principles for a mass mental
hygiene. The changes shown by a mystical individual in the course of character-analytic treatment are of decisive
importance. Clearly, they cannot be simply and directly applied to the masses; but they do disclose the conflicts,
the forces and counterforces, in the average individual.
I have shown in what way the mystical feelings and concepts [154] become anchored. We shall now try to
follow the opposite process, the eradication of mysticism.
In a typical manner, the mystical attitude appears, to begin with, as a powerful resistance against the uncovering
of unconscious psychic life, in particular, of repressed genitality. Characteristically enough, the mystical defense
is directed much less against pregenital impulses than against the natural genital impulses, especially against
infantile masturbation. The patient clings desperately to his ascetic, moralistic and mystical attitudes and
concepts; he intensifies the anthesis between that which is "moral" and that which is "animal," that is, naturally
genital; he fights against his own genital sexuality by depreciating it moralistically. He accuses the therapist of
"gross, base materialism" and of a lack of appreciation for "higher values." In brief, to him who knows the
political argumentation of the mystics and fascists and the "scientific" argumentation of the characterologists, all
this sounds like an old story; in fact, it is all one and the same thing. Typically, the fear of God and the moralistic
defense become intensified as soon as one succeeds in loosening a bit of sexual repression. If one succeeds in
overcoming the infantile fear of masturbation, if, as a result, the desire for genital gratification makes itself
strongly felt, intellectual insight and the affirmation of sexuality begin to gain the upperhand. To the extent to
which the fear of sexuality and the old parental sexual prohibitions disappears, to the same extent does the
mystical credulity disappear. What has happened in such a case? Previously the patient had utilized mysticism for
keeping the sexual desires in repression. His personality was too apprehensive, too much alienated from its own
sexuality, to be able to control and regulate the powerful natural forces. On the contrary, the more he fought off
his sexuality, the stronger became its demands and the more intensely he had to put to use his moralistic and
mystical inhibitions. In the course of the treatment the infantile dependence on parents and educators was more
and more eliminated; the patient recognized the naturalness of genitality; he learned [155] to distinguish what
parts of his impulses were infantile and anachronistic, and what parts were in keeping with real life. The religious
youth, e.g., will soon recognize the fact that his exhibitionistic or other perverse tendencies reflect partly a
regression to infantile forms of sexuality, partly the inhibition of his natural genitality. He will also realize that his
desire for sexual intercourse is not only in keeping with his age and natural organization, but that its gratification
is necessary. He no longer needs the crutch of a belief in an Almighty God and of a moralistic inhibition. He
becomes master in his own house and learns to regulate his sexual energies himself. Character-analysis liberates