Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of Brainwashing in China [Paperback]

Robert Jay Lifton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1989

Informed by Erik Erikson's concept of the formation of ego identity, this book, which first appreared in 1961, is an analysis of the experiences of fifteen Chinese citizens and twenty-five Westerners who underwent "brainwashing" by the Communist Chinese government. Robert Lifton constructs these case histories through personal interviews and outlines a thematic pattern of death and rebirth, accompanied by feelings of guilt, that characterizes the process of "thought reform." In a new preface, Lifton addresses the implications of his model for the study of American religious cults.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: University of N. Carolina Press (July 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807842532
• ISBN-13: 978-0807842539
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #158,030 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Seminal Work on Mind Control., July 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of Brainwashing in China (Paperback)

This book may date from 1961, but it continues to be an essential work for understanding the techniques of mind control that continue to be utilized by authoritarian governments as well as by destructive cults. Those who have been watching with horror the crackdown by the Communist Chinese government on the peaceful falun gong religious sect will recognize in Lifton's book the same tyrannical mindset as it operated at its origins. Obviously, not much has changed in 40 years. Especially worthwhile in this book is the description of the eight conditions underlying any thought reform program. "Milieu control", for example, is the imposition of an entire controlling environment that permits a person no unapproved interactions, no free time, and no access to unapproved information. "Doctrine over person" is a state of affairs where, in any situation where ideology is contradicted by real experience, the ideology, not the experience, is believed. This can lead to a situation where a fictitious construct -- "the People" -- is defined differently from that of real people, who are not considered to be "real" people if their experience differs from ideology. Lifton calls this viewpoint "dispensing of existence." Cult survivors such as myself (a former 10-year member of Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church) will recognize these and the other conditions Lifton enumerates.

58 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Refutation of Prior Review - This Is An Excellent Book, May 29, 2000

By 

Nicolas P. DiCiaccio - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of Brainwashing in China (Paperback)

Upon seeing the review below, from the reader in Rio de Janeiro, I had to write my own thoughts and share them. As a former cult member myself and current volunteer in anti-cult activism, I can personally attest that what Dr. Lifton wrote about concerning destructive groups and mind control absolutely exists. The famous chapter 22, where Dr. Lifton lays out the famous "eight criteria", to me isn't a chapter in a book but how my adolescense was in this particular group. It's true; it exists. The reader from Rio said that mind control was a failure; well, ultimately, yes it is, total control over a person's mind isn't 100%, and won't last forever. However, individuals and destructive groups (cults) know how to exploit mind control techniques to allow them control over a person's thoughts and actions long enough to get that person to do what they want, and often when people leave cults they suffer psychological damages for years afterward. This is also not about West superior over East; Dr. Lifton also chronicled how many Chinese were hurt by the mind control imposed by the Communists. All in all, this is a terrific book about mind control and its damaging effects; I highly recommend it.

33 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An important book, June 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of Brainwashing in China (Paperback)

This book has created a lot of controversies envolving new religious movements. Although it describes a research made with POWs e somes Chinese intellectuals, it has been frequently used attacks against some new religious movements.

The concept "brainwashing" first came into public use during the Korean War in the 1950s as an explanation for why a few American GIs defected to the Communists. The two most authoritative studies of the Korean War defections (and this book was one of them) concluded that "brainwashing" was an inappropriate concept to account for this renunciation of U.S. citizenship. When several new religious came into high profile during the youth counter-culture of the 1960s and 70s the concept "brainwashing" was again employed as a culturally acceptable explanation to account for the fact that some idealistic "flower children" came under the influence of "cult" leaders. A quarter-of-a-century of scholarly research on why people join new religions has come to essentially the same conclusion as the Korean War studies -- "brainwashing" is not a viable concept to describe the dynamics of affiliation with new religions. Defenders of "brainwashing" have used other concepts like "mind control" and "thought reform," but they have failed to produce a scholarly literature to support their claims. Thus, whatever euphemisms may be employed, the basic conclusion against the brainwashing thesis is not altered. Still, the mass media continues to report claims of "brainwashing" as if the alleged phenomenon were real. And, as a result, the concept "brainwashing" sustains considerable currency in popular culture. It is, to be sure, a powerful metaphor. "Brainwashing" communicates disapproval of influence by persons, or groups, the user of the term considers to be illegitimate. If you want to understand the origins of the concept, read Lifton's work. Just take care to not get caught by the "cult mind control" rhetoric.