Eric Hoffer (July 25, 1902 – May 21, 1983) was an American social writer. He was the author of ten books and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in February 1983. His first book, The True Believer, published in 1951, was widely recognized as a classic, receiving critical acclaim from both scholars and laymen, although Hoffer believed that his book The Ordeal of Change was his finest work. In 2001, the Eric Hoffer Award was established in his honor with permission granted by the Eric Hoffer Estate in 2005.
Read more about Eric Hoffer: Biography, Working Class Roots, On The Nature and Origins of Mass Movements, Views and Opinions, Hoffer's Papers, Published Works, Interviews, Awards and Recognition
Famous quotes by eric hoffer:
“Power corrupts the few, while weakness corrupts the many.... The resentment of the weak does not spring from any injustice done to them but from the sense of their inadequacy and impotence. They hate not wickedness but weakness. When it is in their power to do so, the weak destroy weakness wherever they see it.”
—Eric Hoffer (1902–1983)
“Take away hatred from some people, and you have men without faith.”
—Eric Hoffer (1902–1983)
“Action is at bottom a swinging and flailing of the arms to regain one’s balance and keep afloat.”
—Eric Hoffer (1902–1983)
“Man is eminently a storyteller. His search for a purpose, a cause, an ideal, a mission and the like is largely a search for a plot and a pattern in the development of his life story—a story that is basically without meaning or pattern.”
—Eric Hoffer (1902–1983)
“No matter what our achievements might be, we think well of ourselves only in rare moments. We need people to bear witness against our inner judge, who keeps book on our shortcomings and transgressions. We need people to convince us that we are not as bad as we think we are.”
—Eric Hoffer (1902–1983)