by Frederick Hink, American Thinker:

Eric Hoffer, in The True Believer, identified three groupings of people involved with mass movements: men of words, practical men of action, and fanatics. These can be further summarized as the benefactors — politicians and community leaders who gain power through aggressive protests; the agitators who play the role of true believers by manipulating causes and people to gain recognition and power; and the cannon fodder, those who are easily manipulated and see social justice as a means to gain social acceptance and self-worth. Hoffer did not have access to psychological studies of individuals within mass movements; had he, his contemplations may have focused upon the personality traits of individual participants within mass totalitarian movements — especially among the agitators and cannon fodder — and concluded true belief was not the only driver toward violence.