Europe's Mass-Psychosis Getting WORSE | Prof. Mattias Desmet
The most fragile moment in 500 years of Western imperial dominance is also its most dangerous. As power slips away, the masses are forming into a new and frightening way. And it all has to do with psychology.Kyoto University Symposium 2026: "Geopolitics in the Time of Monsters"
Presentation 3: Prof. Mattias Desmet
Why do even intelligent people fall for the most ridiculous narratives? At the Kyoto Symposium, Mattias Desmet presents his theory of mass formation, linking loneliness, anxiety and collective identification to propaganda and intolerance. He argues that sincere speech can rebuild human connections and resist destructive conformity. The discussion tests his account against history, modernity, class, racism and contemporary geopolitical conflict. Audience members challenge his assumptions and explore whether psychological explanations can complement structural analysis when diagnosing the dangers facing societies today.
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Time Stamps
00:00 Introduction: diagnosing the patient
04:56 Intelligence, conformity and mass formation
08:31 Loneliness and the appeal of collective narratives
15:56 Intolerance, propaganda and conflict
19:39 Sincere speech and rebuilding human connections
24:10 Q&A: anxiety and propaganda
38:17 History, class and the limits of mass psychology
56:40 Belief, experience and the final audience questions Receive SMS online on sms24.me
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