The Psychology of Immolation

Immolation has often proved a useful tool for political movements, especially at times of crisis. Contemporary examples include the Velvet  Revolution in  Czechoslovakia and the Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka. Imagine my surprise when I read The Economist this week to see Moroccans immolating themselves whilst chanting "Give me a civil service job or give me death"!

A kneejerk reaction would be the condemnation of the immolators for burning themselves to death rather than getting on their bicycles and looking for work elsewhere. Yet, that kneejerk reaction does not allow us to understand the motives of those who take such a drastic step. What leads an individual to decide that pain, even suicide, are worth this symbolic action? The important part of that word is symbolic - the act is only worthwhile if it draws attention to the ideal for which the sacrifice was made, in a public spectacle. Individuals attracted to such an act will be acting out an ideal, placing their individual sacrifice within a shared community. The most important part of their act is the audience, preferably as large as possible.

Immolators appear to be idealists who view their actions as valuable contributions to their identified community, drawing attention and possibly remedies for their plight. Returning to the Moroccans who set light to themselves, the issues that underlaid their sacrifice were unemployment and the lack of work. within a society where most opportunities are provided by the state, this was simplified into demands for 'civil service jobs'. Yet, understanding the social circumstances of such actions does not persuade us that they were compelled to burn themselves due to the lack of alternatives.

The parallels between immolation and suicide bombing are clear. Both are deliberate and communal actions, represented as sacrifice or martyrdom,  and providing a strong message to their peers and designated audiences. This is a partial explanation for the number of terrorist suicide bombers who originate from educated, elite backgrounds, such as the 9/11 perpetrators.

Whether suicide bombers or immolators, many pundits on the Left are often unable to disentangle the deliberate and highly politicised act of the agent from the underlying issues which they hope to change or reinforce. One should not push the parallels between these two actions too far, but  the unwillingness to recognise the individual actions of those involved is all of a piece with the patronising attitude of the Left to those who they claim to champion.