Skip to content

Eric Hoffer Quotes

1902–1983 United States

Eric Hoffer (25 July 1902 – 21 May 1983) was an American writer on social and political philosophy. His first book, The True Believer: Thoughts On The Nature Of Mass Movements (1951) is widely recognized as a classic on mass-movements and the psychological roots of fanaticism.

United States
Non-fiction authors
Philosophers
Psychologists
Science authors

Also known as: Hoffer, Eric

Random Eric Hoffer quote

218 quotes

Unless a man has talents to make something of himself, freedom is an irksome burden.

The True Believer (1951)

To become different from what we are, we must have some awareness of what we are.

The Passionate State Of Mind, and Other Aphorisms (1955)

In products of the human mind, simplicity marks the end of a process of refining, while complexity marks a primitive stage.

Eric Hoffer and the Art of the Notebook (2005)

The best education will not immunize a person against corruption by power.

Before the Sabbath (1979)

Freedom gives us a chance to realize our human and individual uniqueness.

Working and Thinking on the Waterfront (1969)

They who lack talent expect things to happen without effort.

Reflections on the Human Condition (1973)

To dispose a soul to action we must upset its equilibrium.

The Ordeal of Change (1963)

The mind must be able to be "elsewhere." This needs time.

Eric Hoffer and the Art of the Notebook (2005)

Absolute power achieves uniqueness by dehumanizing others.

Working and Thinking on the Waterfront (1969)

The awareness of their individual blemishes and shortcomings inclines the frustrated to detect ill will and meanness in their fellow men.

A dissenting minority feels free only when it can impose its will on the majority: what it abominates most is the dissent of the majority.

To think out a problem is not unlike drawing a caricature. You have to exaggerate the salient point and leave out that which is not typical.

Eric Hoffer and the Art of the Notebook (2005)

I like half-truths of a certain kind — they are interesting and they stimulate.

Eric Hoffer and the Art of the Notebook (2005)

The desire for praise is more imperative than the desire for food and shelter.

Eric Hoffer and the Art of the Notebook (2005)

This food-and-shelter theory concerning man's efforts is without insight.

Eric Hoffer and the Art of the Notebook (2005)

If anybody asks me what I have accomplished, I will say all I have accomplished is that I have written a few good sentences.

Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life...

How frighteningly few are the persons whose death would spoil our appetite and make the world seem empty.

Propaganda does not deceive people; it merely helps them to deceive themselves.

The Passionate State Of Mind, and Other Aphorisms (1955)

Failure in the management of practical affairs seems to be a qualification for success in the management of public affairs.

The True Believer (1951)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Eric Hoffer (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.