Aum Shinrikyo, Apocalyptic Violence, and the New Global Terrorism
Destroying the World to Save It : Aum Shinrikyo, Apocalyptic
Violence, and the New Global Terrorism
by Robert
Jay Lifton
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Paperback - (October 2000) 376 pages
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com While Destroying the World to Save It is a deeply researched and
intelligent psychological analysis, Lifton's conclusion is nevertheless
unsatisfying. While surmising that those who next attempt to carry out an
apocalyptic plan may be more powerful and competent than Aum, he does not
really present a good suggestion for how to prevent their success,
offering only a psychologist's "plea for awareness." One hopes his study
will encourage activism against global terrorism as well. --Maria
Dolan --This text refers to the Hardcover
edition.
The premise of Destroying
the World to Save It is terrifying: after studying the history of the
Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo (instigators of a 1995 nerve gas attack on a
Tokyo subway), the author believes them to be only one group in a "loosely
connected, still-developing global subculture of apocalyptic violence." We
ignore this subculture, says National Book Award winner Robert Jay Lifton,
at our future peril. In interviews with former Aum members once led by the
guru figure Shoko Asahara, it is their "familiar ordinariness" that most
disturbs Lifton. Drawing parallels to his studies of Nazi psychology, he
notes that--just as in Germany--practicing doctors and trained scientists
were persuaded to join Aum and offer their specialized knowledge in the
service of the cult's plans. The story of Aum, says Lifton, has for the
first time shown the world that not only other states but more elusive
groups less open to diplomacy may be able to gain control of weapons of
mass destruction.
The New York Times Book Review, Nicholas D.
Kristof
Lifton is at his best in explaining the
mixed-up feeling of Asahara's disciples, the confusion that led them to
obey the guru or rationalize what he did. --This text refers to the Hardcover
edition.
The New York Times, Richard Bernstein
As with all of Lifton's reflections on politics and psychology,
this one has many powerful and compelling insights. --This text refers
to the Hardcover
edition.
From Booklist
From psychiatrist and National Book Award^-winner Lifton comes
this astonishingly intimate portrait of Aum Shinrikyo, the Japanese cult
that became world-famous when it released a nerve gas called sarin into
the Tokyo subway. Lifton, who has written extensively both on Japan and on
terrorism and genocide, interviewed former members of the cult, and his
profile of Aum's leader, the charismatic con man Shoko Asahara, is
extremely detailed and rather creepy. But the book is much more than a
story of a single cult. It's an exploration of the idea of cults: how they
grow, who joins them, who leads them. Drawing on his knowledge of
Japan--both modern and historical--Lifton places Aum in the broader
context of world history, comparing it to Jim Jones' Peoples Temple and
the Nazi movement. An intelligent, ambitious exploration of the power of
cults and a definite eye-opener. David Pitt --This text refers
to the Hardcover
edition.
From Kirkus Reviews
A study of the
historical and psychological origins and meanings of the Japanese cult Aum
Shinriky, by the noted psychiatrist and author Lifton. On March 5, 1995,
members of Aum, at the direction of their leader, Shk Asahara, released
the lethal gas sarin onto five Tokyo subway trains. Eleven died, 5,000
were injured. Lifton has written often on the evil extremes of human
actione.g., the Nazi Holocaust, Hiroshima (Hiroshima in America: 50 Years
of Denial, 1995, etc.). Bringing his vast knowledge to bear on Aum, he
finds much that is familiar, much that is unique. As with all cults, the
members of Aum were fiercely dedicated to their leader, to the point of
''collective megalomania'': an unquestioned belief in the limitless power
of the self. Add to this a belief in poa, altruistic murder, so that the
victim might move to a higher level of being, and all bounds of behavior
are removed. Aum was fascinated with Armageddon. a final cleansing of the
world, but uniquely Aum had weapons at its disposal to at least plan such
a cleansing. This is the new terrorism to which the title alludes. Lifton
examines how cult members became indoctrinated, yet he has larger
questions. Why such a group in the first place? Why in Japan? Can it
happen elsewhere? Reaching back to Japanese history, the author searches
for motivation: similar cults, Japan's failure to face its barbarous
actions in WWII, the spiritual malaise of a rigid Japanese social system.
Even Godzilla movies come into play. Beyond Aum, Lifton looks to the
social situations that may lead to, and in fact have led to, similar cults
in the US. Lifton is evocative and erudite as usual, yet the limits of his
psychohistorical'' method remain. Understanding history through psychology
suggests much and proves little. The history of Japan may have motivated
Aum members, but precisely howhow history permeates the individualremains
unclear. Nonetheless, this is a powerful book, suggesting how fragile both
the human psyche and human decency may be. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus
Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover
edition.
Anthony Day, Los Angeles Times
"Disturbing...sounds somber warning bells."
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