The Man Who Wouldn’t Sign Up, compared with modern observers of dystopian tendencies

**YouTube Story Videos | 11/15/2025 | CharlesOconnell**

*Posted by CharlesOConnell*

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### The Man Who Wouldn’t Join: A Reflection on Individualism and Mass Society

The story [“The Man Who Wouldn’t Join”](link) explores the life of a rebellious individualist who attains security against invasive collective-movement recruitment efforts by allying with a similarly rebellious individualist woman. Together, they form a marriage based on mutual refusal to “join” mass movements or ideologies.

This narrative invites deeper consideration through the lenses of:

– Gabriel Marcel’s *Man Against Mass Society*,
– René Girard’s notion of the “scapegoat mechanism” (violent mass psychology),
– Jacques Ellul’s *Propaganda* (the siloing of ideologies),
– Edward Bernays’ *Propaganda* (manipulative mass techniques).

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### The Matrix of Control and Mass Manipulation

Our very belief in individual political viewpoints often serves as grist for the mill of oligarchic control. Unlike the fictional *Matrix*—which merely depicts a simulated reality—this control is enacted by unseen forces manipulating every intricate detail of our thoughts and actions, whether we lean right or left.

Regardless of whether one plans to escape into the countryside or prepare for catastrophe as a “prepper,” mass manipulation deeply penetrates all means of survival and belief. We find ourselves supposedly on opposite sides of a political spectrum, when in reality, the divide is vertical: powerful figures, akin to Soros and similar oligarchs, pull the strings above, while the masses remain mesmerized by a political Punch and Judy show.

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### Political Illusions and Social Realities

We may accept so-called restrictions on freedom in response to civil degradation—such as extra-legal state actions against fishermen in the Caribbean, or the failure to prosecute violent anarchists like Antifa for destructive acts—believing these are inevitable costs of civil chaos. Yet, these events are often orchestrated episodes within a master manipulation plan orchestrated by elite forces such as the Koch Brothers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Business Roundtable.

The agenda is to minimize labor costs at the bottom skill level, often at the expense of home-born marginalized groups. African-Americans, for example, were cut out of Hurricane Katrina recovery work in favor of cheaper migrant labor, with little compassion extended by influential institutions including certain Catholic Bishops.

Politicians across administrations have pronounced tough stances on undocumented migrants without meaningful action, due to top-tier oligarchic interests desiring a cheap, pliable labor force.

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### The Political Landscape: Past and Present

When Republicans held a triple majority in the White House, Senate, and Congress, many believed the opposing side had been vanquished. Yet, history shows otherwise—even during the Bush-43 administration, left-wing dissent persisted and later, during the Trump era, political conflicts remained unresolved.

Opposing political factions often hold some honestly held principles, despite disparate views on justice, civil rights, and societal considerations. Yet to oligarchs like Soros, these conflicts are mere phantoms in a grand playhouse of manipulation, where mass public opinion is shaped and exploited by brainwashing specialists employed by powerful financiers like Warren Buffett, Jamie Dimon, and Larry Fink.

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### Historical Roots and Theoretical Frameworks

The shadow play of mass manipulation has existed demonstrably for at least a century, notably since Edward Bernays—the nephew of Freud—pioneered modern propaganda techniques in the 1920s. But in truth, such control mechanisms have operated for thousands of years, from the times of empires, kings, and emperors.

The story of Henry Westing in Thomas E. Purdom’s *The Man Who Wouldn’t Sign Up* offers a poignant counterpoint when examined alongside:

– Gabriel Marcel’s *Man Against Mass Society*,
– René Girard’s theory of scapegoating and mimetic rivalry,
– Jacques Ellul’s insights on ideological silos in *Propaganda*,
– Edward Bernays’ analyses of coercive mass manipulation.

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### Henry Westing’s Subversive Individualism

In Purdom’s story, Henry Westing embodies the archetype of subversive individualism. He consistently refuses to “sign up” for institutions, corporate culture, or ideological movements, despite persistent social pressure insisting, “You’ve got to belong… you’ve got to have something bigger than yourself.”

Westing lives life “in his own manner,” cherishing books, concerts, plays, and genuine friendships—not as means to broader causes, but as ends in themselves. His resistance is quiet and persistent, not violent or escapist, and he endures social costs such as job losses and criticism.

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### Gabriel Marcel: Personhood vs. Mass Society

Gabriel Marcel diagnoses a metaphysical crisis in modern mass society, which reduces individuals to functional roles, abstract categories, or economic functions, thereby degrading real personhood. Key themes include:

– **Spirit of Abstraction:** People become objects or roles rather than beings.
– **Propaganda and Manipulation:** A contempt for individual conscience through mass manipulation.
– **Alienation and Loss of Mystery:** Technological societies prioritize “having” over “being.”
– **Personhood over Mass:** True education and formation require personal relationships beyond masses.

Westing’s refusal to assimilate aligns with Marcel’s critique, though Marcel advocates for relational communion rather than isolated solitude.

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### René Girard’s Scapegoat Mechanism

Girard explains how mimetic desire (imitation of others’ desires) breeds rivalry within groups. As conflicts escalate, societies resort to scapegoating—projecting internal violence onto an often innocent victim—to regain peace.

Westing rejects participation in this scapegoat dynamic by refusing collective identification, thus avoiding mimetic rivalry and preserving his moral autonomy. His life models a form of social order that does not depend on mass violence or sacrificial rituals.

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### Jacques Ellul’s Propaganda

Ellul views propaganda as structural, integrating individuals into mass ideological systems and shaping not only thoughts but behaviors and social relations.

Westing’s refusal to “sign up” represents a direct resistance to this mass integration. By remaining outside ideological silos, he disrupts the machinery of propaganda, though Ellul might argue such lone resistance is fragile without structural support.

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### Edward Bernays and the Engineering of Consent

Bernays pioneered techniques of mass persuasion by exploiting group psychology, symbols, and entrenched stereotypes to manufacture public consent—a “hidden government” controlling opinion.

Westing’s nonconsent to this system places him outside the realm targeted by Bernays’ orchestrators. However, Bernays might view Westing as a negligible dissenter, since propaganda aims to influence the many, not the few.

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### Synthesis: Resistance in a Mass Society

– **Resilience through Refusal:** Westing’s individualism powerfully stands apart from mass manipulation.
– **Ethical Individualism:** His nonconformity is rooted in genuine moral and personal commitment.
– **Limits of Resistance:** Westing does not propose an alternative mass system, rather a personal mode of being.
– **Alternative Sociality:** He builds voluntary, intimate community beyond coercive mass systems.
– **Political and Existential Implications:** His quiet test is whether personhood can endure amid systemic mass control.

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### Topics

Conspiracy | History | Society

### Keywords

Bernays | Ellul | Girard | Marcel

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*End of Article.*
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4352706/posts

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