Cult of personality

People paying homage to statues of Kim Il-sung in Pyongyang, North Korea

A cult of personality arises when an individual uses mass media, propaganda, or other methods to create an idealized, heroic, and at times worshipful image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise. Sociologist Max Weber developed a tripartite classification of authority; the cult of personality holds parallels with what Weber defined as "charismatic authority". A cult of personality is similar to divinization, except that it is established by mass media and propaganda usually by the state, especially in totalitarian (or sometimes authoritarian) states.

Etymology

Augustus of Prima Porta

The term "cult of personality" probably appeared in English around 1800–1850, along with the French and German use.[1] At first it had no political connotations but was instead closely related to the Romantic "cult of genius".[1] The political use of the phrase came first in a letter from Karl Marx to German political worker, Wilhelm Blos, 10 November 1877:[1]

Neither of us cares a straw of popularity. Let me cite one proof of this: such was my aversion to the personality cult [orig. Personenkultus] that at the time of the International, when plagued by numerous moves [...] to accord me public honor, I never allowed one of these to enter the domain of publicity [...][1][2]

The terms "cult of personality" and "personality cult" were further popularized by Nikita Khrushchev's initially secret speech On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences given on the final day of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, February 25, 1956, which criticized the lionization of Josef Stalin and its contrariness to the originators of Marxist doctrine. Robert Service notes that a more accurate translation of the Russian "культ личности" ("kul't lichnosti") is the "cult of the individual".[3]

Background

Throughout history, monarchs and other heads of state were almost always held in enormous reverence. Through the principle of the divine right of kings, in medieval Europe for example, rulers were said to hold office by the will of God. Ancient Egypt, Japan, the Inca, the Aztecs, Tibet, Siam (now Thailand), and the Roman Empire are especially noted for redefining monarchs as "god-kings".

The spread of democratic and secular ideas in Europe and North America in the 18th and 19th centuries made it increasingly difficult for monarchs to preserve this aura. However, the subsequent development of photography, sound recording, film, and mass production, as well as public education and techniques used in commercial advertising, enabled political leaders to project a positive image of themselves as never before. It was from these circumstances in the 20th century that the best-known personality cults arose. Often these cults are a form of political religion.

Purpose

Personality cults were first described in relation to Totalitarianism regimes that sought to alter or transform society according to radical ideas.[4] Often, a single leader became associated with this revolutionary transformation and came to be treated as a benevolent "guide" for the nation without whom the transformation to a better future could not occur. This has been generally the justification for personality cults that arose in totalitarian societies, such as those of Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Benito Mussolini, and Mao Zedong.[5]

Pierre du Bois argues that the Stalin cult was elaborately constructed to legitimize his rule. Many deliberate distortions and falsehoods were used.[6] The Kremlin refused access to archival records that might reveal the truth, and key documents were destroyed. Photographs were altered and documents were invented.[7] People who knew Stalin were forced to provide "official" accounts to meet the ideological demands of the cult, especially as Stalin himself presented it in 1938 in Short Course on the History of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), which became the official history.[8]

Historian David L. Hoffmann, sums up the consensus of scholars:

The Stalin cult was a central element of Stalinism, and as such it was one of the most salient features of Soviet rule....Many scholars of Stalinism cite the cult as integral to Stalin's power or as evidence of Stalin's megalomania.[9]

Not all dictatorships foster personality cults, while not all personality cults are practiced in dictatorships (they can exist in democratic countries), and some leaders may actively seek to minimize their own public adulation. For example, during the Cambodian Khmer Rouge regime, images of dictator Pol Pot (Saloth Sar) were rarely seen in public, and his identity was under dispute abroad until after his fall from power. The same applied to numerous Eastern European communist regimes following World War II (although not those of Enver Hoxha, Nicolae Ceaușescu and Josip Broz Tito).

The American band Living Colour won a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1990 for their signature anthem "Cult of Personality".[10][11]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Heller, Klaus (2004). Personality Cults in Stalinism. pp. 23–33. ISBN 9783899711912.
  2. ↑ Blos, Wilhelm. "Brief von Karl Marx an Wilhelm Blos". Denkwürdigkeiten eines Sozialdemokraten. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  3. ↑ Service, Robert. Stalin: A Biography. p. 362. ISBN 9780674022584.
  4. ↑ Kreis, Steven Kreis "Stalin and the Cult of Personality" Retrieved April 06, 2010
  5. ↑ Jan Plamper, The Stalin Cult: A Study in the Alchemy of Power (Yale UP, 2012).
  6. ↑ Pierre du Bois, "Stalin – Genesis of a Myth," Survey. A Journal of East & West Studies 28#1 (1984) pp 166-181. See abstract in David R. Egan; Melinda A. Egan (2007). Joseph Stalin: An Annotated Bibliography of English-Language Periodical Literature to 2005. Scarecrow Press. p. 157.
  7. ↑ Carol Strong and Matt Killingsworth, "Stalin the Charismatic Leader?: Explaining the ‘Cult of Personality’ as a legitimation technique." Politics, Religion & Ideology 12.4 (2011): 391-411.
  8. ↑ N. N. Maslov, "Short Course of the History of the All-Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik)—An Encyclopedia of Stalin's Personality Cult." Soviet Studies in History 28.3 (1989): 41-68.
  9. ↑ David L. Hoffmann, "The Stalin Cult" The Historian (2013) 75#4 p 909
  10. ↑ Here's List of Nominees from all 77 Categories. The Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah. 12 January 1990. page W7. Accessed 8 August 2017.
  11. ↑ The ABC of Sycophancy. Structural Conditions for the Emergence of Dictators’ Cults of Personality. Adrian Teodor Popan, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin. Ph.D. Dissertation. 2015. p.4. Accessed 8 August 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.