Book · 1997 · Communism
The Captive Mind
- mentions
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- people
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- podcasts
- 3
- episodes
- 3
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Which was this book called the captive mind that somebody had left out by Chesaf Milos a po who was a Polish poet and he had grown up in Warsaw.
The best things said about it
You know jordan uh cheswald miwosch who was a former communist who defected from poland in the 1950s wrote an excellent book in the early 50s called the captive mind and in it he tried to describe to the west why people fell for communism.
Rod Dreher The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast · Jul 2022 There's a fantastic book that i'm going to misremember milos is the captive soul the captive mind rather which has a fantastic passage here.
Where and when it comes up
Most mentions, by podcast
Why people recommend it
The Captive Mind by Czesław Miłosz is a classic philosophical and political analysis examining why intellectuals and ordinary people succumbed to the appeal of totalitarianism and communism in the twentieth century. The book was referenced across multiple prominent podcasts. In November 2021, on the Lex Fridman Podcast, Niall Ferguson cited a memorable passage from the book while discussing the broader destruction of civilization. In July 2022, on The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast, Rod Dreher brought up the work while speaking with Jordan Peterson, noting that the author was a former communist who defected from Poland in the 1950s and wrote the book to explain to Western audiences why people fell for totalitarian ideologies. Additionally, in May 2025, Rebecca Lemov mentioned the book on The Joe Rogan Experience, recalling how she encountered a copy left out by the Polish poet and how it served as an inspiration for her own academic research into belief systems and ideological conformity. Across these conversations, the speakers highlighted the timeless relevance of Miłosz's insights into political indoctrination, intellectual surrender, and the psychological mechanisms that drive individuals to embrace rigid dogmas during times of crisis.
Every mention
Niall Ferguson there's a fantastic book that i'm going to misremember milos is the captive soul the captive mind rather wh… 1
“there's a fantastic book that i'm going to misremember milos is the captive soul the captive mind rather which has a fantastic passage here”
Rebecca Lemov which was this book called the captive mind that somebody had left out by Chesaf Milos a po who was a Polis… 1
“which was this book called the captive mind that somebody had left out by Chesaf Milos a po who was a Polish poet and he had grown up in Warsaw”
Rod Dreher you know jordan uh cheswald miwosch who was a former communist who defected from poland in the 1950s wrote… 1
“you know jordan uh cheswald miwosch who was a former communist who defected from poland in the 1950s wrote an excellent book in the early 50s called the captive mind and in it he tried to describe to the west why people fell for communism”
