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Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of 'brainwashing' in China Paperback – July 31, 1989
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Print length524 pages
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LanguageEnglish
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PublisherThe University of North Carolina Press
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Publication dateJuly 31, 1989
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Dimensions5.5 x 1.17 x 8.5 inches
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ISBN-100807842532
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ISBN-13978-0807842539
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Editorial Reviews
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Lifton has written a book with the rare virtue of being at once a rich source of information vital to international relations, and an interesting exploration of several aspects of ideology and identity.--Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
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Product details
- Publisher : The University of North Carolina Press (July 31, 1989)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 524 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0807842532
- ISBN-13 : 978-0807842539
- Item Weight : 1.46 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.5 x 1.17 x 8.5 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,449,403 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,619 in Chinese History (Books)
- #3,314 in Cognitive Psychology (Books)
- #22,523 in Motivational Self-Help (Books)
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First of all, I should point out that Lifton makes it clear that the process of "thought reform" is not as black and white as we'd like to think. In other words, you can't look at a few scary places and say "there is some thought reform" while flippantly brushing away fears for more ordinary times and places. It's really something that varies more by degree with the Chinese cultural revolution being a particular extreme example.
In America today, we see "wokeism" that very forcefully extracts compliance, although it doesn't yet have the same power over the people that was present in the Chinese Cultural Revolution. This power consists of much of the compelled DEI and Critical Race Theory initiatives. Those that resist are encouraged to have "struggle sessions" where they get help seeing their waywardness with the very real threat of an extreme form of ostracization for those that bring attention on themselves but then fail to bow to the pressure.
This book gives us a chance to reflect on what we believe we would like to have been able to have done had we been in the shoes of some of the Chinese intellections being subject to the thought reform, and perhaps strengthen our resolve after having been given some time to mentally prepare ourselves for what may come to any of us at any time.
Good luck.
Good luck.
Interestingly, I actually found chapter 8 on "Apparent Resisters" to be the part of the book that was most illuminating in my quest to understand the religion I grew up with. I always asked myself, even when I was one, how could JW's be so resistant... how did they resist in concentration camps and gulags, refusing to compromise even a little? I feared that I could never have THAT kind of resolve. Lifton pointed out that those who best resisted the thought reform of the Chinese prison system were those who were most immune to the appeal of totalism, *because they already had a totalistic worldview of their own.* Therefore, the totalism that the communists tried to involve these resisters in was actually perceived as a threat to their already satisfied totalistic impulse, rather than a tempting means to fulfill it.
I'm very grateful to Robert Lifton for this wonderful analysis, this isn't just a book about "brainwashing" in communist China, it's a book about human nature. If you're curious about the more extreme and darker impulses of human nature, read it! And if your curious about high control religious groups, or especially if you are in the process of leaving one yourself, I highly suggest reading it along with his study on Aum Shinrikyo "Destroying the World to Save it".
It's pretty clear to see that that techniques and methods in this book have been perfected to work on society at large, instead of 6-8 people in isolation, using both the media and social media, and implemented in universities in America for a long time now. You can see from the video I've attached just one, tiny, example has worked its way in to our society in the past tenish years. However, it's so much worse than that. As many other reviewers have stated, this is frightening and terrifying to read.
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2022
It's pretty clear to see that that techniques and methods in this book have been perfected to work on society at large, instead of 6-8 people in isolation, using both the media and social media, and implemented in universities in America for a long time now. You can see from the video I've attached just one, tiny, example has worked its way in to our society in the past tenish years. However, it's so much worse than that. As many other reviewers have stated, this is frightening and terrifying to read.
Top reviews from other countries
Lifton’s first hand experiences of victims of Chinese thought control is fascinating. His forensic analysis of the stages and impact on ‘the self’ are wonderfully described.
It took another couple of decades for people to realise that the extreme indoctrination documented by Lifton was not invented by communists, but had been happening in their own societies for centuries, in religious and political cults. Lifton's book became the first handbook used by cult busters and de-programmers.
Freedom of thought has been a cornerstone of Western Democracy since the Enlightenment, and is considered a basic human right. Totalist, or extreme indoctrination is a serious and prevalent abuse. Whether it happens in North Korea, Jehova's Witnesses, Scientology, or Islamic State, it not only destroys lives and families, but those who manage to escape suffer lifelong psychological scars. I have personally known survivors who have issues including self-doubt, paranoia, depression, and PTSD.
Lifton's book provides a thorough, insightful, and compassionate view into the techniques and effects of extreme indoctrination. It shows a depth of understanding that remains relevant. Such understanding inoculates us to some extent. If we want to protect ourselves, friends, and family from religious or political totalist or cultish groups, read this book. Know your enemy.
1、外界との情報遮断。
2、指導者の神秘化。
3、思想的純粋要求。
4、自己純化のための自己批判とその組織内共有化。
5、理念の神聖絶対化、聖なる科学化。
6、教条的決まり文句の使用。
7、個人より理念の上位化。
8、全体主義的価値観不一致者の生存免除。
8項目は、社会内小組織から国家大組織までに適用出来よう。具体的にはサカキバラセイト個人からオウム真理教そして北朝鮮まで。しかしながら今日においても和訳されない訳は左右両翼にとって、つまりは上記8項目に該当したならマルクス主義も天皇主義もファシズムとして一括りされてしまう不都合な事実に満ちているからで、さらには一般的民族性すら自然発生的全体主義の烙印を押されかねないからであると推測される。訳者は血の気多い全てを敵に回す危険を覚悟せねばならない。しかしこの書はその様な危険性に充分見合う効用すなわち全てのマインド・コントロールからの人間の全面的解放の道筋を提示している。本来人は母親の、両親の、家族の、言語の、社会の、国家のマインド・コントロールを不可避的に受ける。今までの無意識的マインド・コントロールを意識化し、能動的主体的に自己意識を再構成すなわち正のマインド・コントロールを自分自身に施した時、人間は主体的に言語、社会、国家、家族、両親、母親そして思想を選ぶ自由を手にするだろう。明らかに、マインド・コントロール自体が悪い訳ではなく、それに依拠した普遍的低生産性が悪いのである。負のマインド・コントロールからどれだけ正のマインド・コントロールを能受動的に受けどれだけ自由度が高いかが個人の普遍的生産性の高さを決定する。