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A shoemaker who loses himself in mystical ecstasy and begins to think of himself as a saviour of the people, sent by God, will inevitably cut the soles the wrong way and mess up his stitches. As time goes on, he will be faced with starvation. It is precisely by this process, on the other hand, that the politician becomes strong and rich.

— Wilhelm Reich The Mass Psychology of Fascism (1933)

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More quotes by Wilhelm Reich

The cry for freedom is a sign of suppression. It will not cease to ring as long as man feels himself captive.

The Mass Psychology of Fascism (1933)

Only the liberation of the natural capacity for love in human beings can master their sadistic destructiveness.

The Function of the Orgasm (1927)

Psychic illnesses are the result of a disturbance of the natural capacity for love.

The Function of the Orgasm (1927)

Most intellectual people do not believe in God, but they fear him just the same.

Philosophy : An Introduction to the Art of Wondering (2005)

The suppression of natural sexual gratification leads to various kinds of substitute gratifications. Natural aggression, for example, becomes brutal sadism which then is an essential mass-psychological factor in imperialistic wars.

The Mass Psychology of Fascism (1933)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Wilhelm Reich (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.