The West’s Descent Toward Totalitarianism

Mattias Desmet, 14 May 26, https://scheerpost.com/2026/05/14/mattias-desmet-the-wests-descent-toward-totalitarianism/

Western societies aren’t drifting into authoritarianism, Mattias Desmet argues — they’re sleepwalking into it. In this wide‑ranging conversation, the Belgian psychologist behind The Psychology of Totalitarianism dissects what he calls the “mass formation” gripping the West, a psychological process that replaces democratic debate with enforced unanimity and moralized hysteria. From Russiagate to COVID to Ukraine, Desmet traces a pattern: “The environment is quite suffocating… we must all believe the exact same thing.” What emerges, he warns, is not the old model of dictatorship but a new, technocratic totalitarianism — one driven not by charismatic tyrants but by bureaucrats, experts, and a population desperate for meaning in an atomized world. His message is blunt: unless dissenters understand the psychology behind this new system, they will fight the wrong battle.

Highlights

Mass formation as the engine of modern totalitarianism Desmet argues that today’s authoritarian drift is not imposed by brute force but emerges from a psychological process in which isolated individuals fuse into a fanatical collective.

The suffocating demand for unanimity Diesen notes the pattern: Russiagate, COVID, Ukraine — each crisis enforced a single “absurd” narrative, with dissent treated as treason. Desmet agrees: “People become completely blind… incapable of taking a critical distance.”

Why educated elites are most vulnerable Desmet describes how highly trained professionals become “completely blind” when facts contradict their ideological commitments — a phenomenon he first observed in academia.

Technocratic totalitarianism replaces the old dictatorships Unlike Hitler or Stalin, Desmet says, today’s system is run by “dull bureaucrats and technocrats,” echoing Hannah Arendt’s warnings from 1953.

The 20–30% who become the regime’s enforcers In mass formation, a minority becomes so fused with the narrative that they act as a de‑facto secret police: “They are willing to report everyone to the state who doesn’t conform.”

Why people sacrifice everything — even family Mass formation creates loyalty to an abstract ideal stronger than human bonds. Desmet cites historical examples where parents reported their own children to the state.

Loneliness as the root of the crisis Modern atomization — “40 to 70% feeling isolated,” he notes — creates the psychological vacuum that mass movements fill.

How narratives hijack free‑floating anxiety When people feel anxious without knowing why, they latch onto any explanation — virus, enemy, threat — even if it’s irrational. This gives them a sense of control and belonging.

COVID as a textbook case Rituals like masking and vaccination functioned as belonging‑markers, Desmet says, while society accepted inhumane outcomes: elderly dying alone, neighbors reporting neighbors.

The rapid narrative shift to Ukraine As soon as COVID lost its grip, a new object of anxiety appeared: “the dangerous monster Putin.” The psychological mechanism remained identical.