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johnnyFive  ·  2309 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: You can log off, sure. But you can’t stop the outrage economy

    Twitter hangs on Donald Trump’s every word partly to glean insight into the mind of the president, but also because each tweet triggers a cascade of fury that energises the network. Trump is angry. Liberals are angry back at him. Conservatives are angry with liberals.

This is right on the money:

    There is a fundamental difference between the appeal of a mass movement and the appeal of a practical organization. The practical organization offers opportunities for self-advancement, and its appeal is mainly to self-interest. On the other hand, a mass movement, particularly in its active, revivalist phase, appeals not to those intent on bolstering and advancing a cherished self, but to those who crave to be rid of an unwanted self. A mass movement attracts and holds a following not because it can satisfy the desire for self-advancement, but because it can satisfy the passion for self-renunciation.