They see their current lives and the future as ruined beyond remedy. They are ready to waste and wreck both. They are reckless and seek chaos and anarchy. When they find something that they can believe, they submerge their old "spoiled and meaningless" selves into a spectacular communal undertaking. From our point of view, we see the fanatic's actions as negative. While a large part of what drives him is hatred and discontent, much of what motivates the "true believer" is built on hope for the future and his ability to execute these changes in everyone. The "true believer" has a strong commitment to "change." In part this is a wish to correct wrongs in a backward or repressive society. The "fanatic" sees himself as having the power to transform this underlying discontent. Regardless of the results, the power to change society has a "positive" and optimistic face. This attitude is not cynical or pessimistic. .
The "fanatic" needs something to live for, something that he can devote himself to fully as a selfless act. When the "true believer" exchanges his self-centered life for a selfless one, he gains enormously in self-esteem. In his book, Hoffer described several major factors that he thought promoted self-sacrifice. First of all, "To ripen a person for self-sacrifice he must be stripped of his individual identity and distinctness. The person subordinates his personality with the whole; this is a "complete assimilation" with the whole." Hoffer saw strength in being part of something mighty, glorious, and indestructible. Secondly, there is a need for some kind of "make-believe" to face death unflinchingly. When the "fanatic" sees himself as an actor in a staged performance, death becomes an act of make-believe and a theatrical gesture. Also, we sacrifice ourselves by craving, not having. Ironically, we are less ready to die for what we have or are, than that which we wish to have and to be.
