The worse the self-esteem, the greater the fanaticism.

Self-esteem often comes to depend solely on the feeling of group identification.

Human beings are a gregarious species. That is to say, since ancient times we have lived in community. For this reason, I think that trying to understand how the brain works by separating it from the culture and society to which it belongs is as artificial and absurd as trying to study the habits of a fish by taking it out of the water. We are social beings, our identity is constructed in part according to the gaze of others.

The same is true for self-esteem. The opinion we have of ourselves is the final amalgam of the interaction of many internal factors, such as our temperament and personality characteristics, with external factors; that is, everything that comes from the environment, such as the education we received from our parents or the neighborhood in which we grew up.

It is not uncommon then to argue that our sense of personal worth depends to a large extent on the group to which we belong. The concept we have of ourselves is shaped not only by our personal identity, but also by a social identity. also by a social identity.

The link between self-esteem and fanaticism

The feeling of belonging that comes from being a member of a group can thus contribute to strengthen or weaken our self-esteem. Therefore, the more positive characteristics we attach to our group - be it a political party, a soccer club or whatever - the better we feel about ourselves, the better we feel about ourselves..

Social identity merges with personal identity, and that has a direct impact on self-esteem. If I think that the group that has welcomed me is fantastic, that also makes me, as an individual being, a fantastic being. Y is here where we find the germ of fanaticism.Those who fight tenaciously (and often literally die in that fight) to defend the group's standards are ultimately defending their own self-esteem, which they feel is in danger.

Research in psychology postulates a simple equation: the poorer our self-esteem, the greater the need for identification with a powerful community to help us repair it or to repair it. community to help us repair or at least sustain it. The more insecure we feel and doubt our worth, the stronger the urge to protect our personal pride by associating it with a strong group of belonging.

Of course, this equation is not mathematical; that is, it does not apply to 100% of people. But it does apply to many of them. At least in the West, which is the side of the planet where the research comes from, the correlation between low self-esteem and fanaticism is significant. What I feel I don't have, I look to the group to provide for me. We have here the fertile ground on which some of the worst defects we have as a species are erected, often uncritically. Here are some examples.

1. Nationalism

Configured as the absurd belief that we are better than the citizens of the neighboring country. are better than the citizens of the neighboring country for the simple fact of having been randomly born on this side of a border, and not on the other.and not the other. The patriotic pride is notably intensified when it is accompanied by a feeling of morality that we believe is inherent to our society, such as the idea that "God is on our side", or "Good always triumphs over evil, and we are the good guys".

2. Religious sectarianism

Leaving aside fundamentalism (because of its obviousness), one of the most notable cases in this regard is the one that occurred in 1978 in Guyana, where more than 900 people who made up the community of the People's Temple committed suicide in a submissive and thoughtless manner following the orders of Pastor Jim Jones, the spiritual leader of the group.

3. The dogmatism of ideas

Polarization into antagonistic groups that attack or defend a particular cause is usually a bad symptom. The recent debate over the decriminalization of abortion in Argentina is a clear example, which led a large part of society to divide into two opposing and irreconcilable camps, where moral aspects and scientific arguments were relegated to the background, overshadowed by a discussion on theThe moral aspects and scientific arguments were relegated to the background, eclipsed by a superficial discussion in which it was not important to reach logical conclusions, but the victory of one's own position over the opposite one. In this sense, blaming someone else or demonizing the adversary provides us with the perfect excuse for not taking charge of our own frustrations.

• You may be interested in, "What is Political Psychology?"

3. Political affiliation to the hilt

Adolf Hitler's great merit, and what allowed him to come to power in the 1930s in Germany, was to to tell the people exactly what they needed to hear at the right time.. German morale had been devastated after the Great War. In that context of generalized crisis and a shattered social self-esteem, Hitler knew how to channel people's frustration and speak to them so that they would begin to feel proud of who they were again.

With such a deteriorated self-esteem, even an educated people like the Germans could not help but resist empowering Hitler with the results we are all familiar with. "It is easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled," said Mark Twain.

4. Sports "passion

Especially in soccer, in whose stadiums there are often real pitched battles real pitched battles often take place.. In relation to this last point, it is common to hear many people say things like: "We won, we are the best! (when the team for which they sympathize triumphs) evidencing the personal desire to achieve the greatest possible identification with their group. On the contrary, we will hardly hear someone exclaim: "We lost, we are the worst!" (in the face of bitter defeat). In this second case, what is expected is not to get involved and to distance oneself from the defeated team so as not to be associated with the dishonor: "They lost, they are the worst!"

Conclusion

Only those who do not feel they have a good position in life try to improve their self-image by linking it to successful people.. They do not seek prestige in their own achievements, but in someone else's. At the other extreme, those who have a good opinion of themselves do not need to reinforce it by appealing to others' glory. At the other extreme, those who have a good opinion of themselves do not need to reinforce it by appealing to the glory of others.

It is a valid premise that the more intransigent an idea or doctrine is, the more the self-esteem and sense of personal identity of the individual who proclaims it is likely to be deteriorated. We come to feel superior (in all possible ways) to the same extent that we convince ourselves that our group is the best, and this is one of the worst fallacies we can fall into.