Adskillelse eller isolation

En kulturpsykologisk analyse af Jonestownmassakren

Abstract

When a community seperates itself from society, its survival depends on a delicate balance between separation and isolation. The case to be presented here is the Jonestown Colony in Guyana, visited by the author shortly before its collective suicide. The selfdestruction is analyzed in terms of the psychology of large groups. Within the camp, incestuous relationships
flourished, and there were unresolved conflicts between individuation and assimilation. It developed to a »greedy institution«, with the leader as the absolute power centre. Isolation, an apocalyptic ideology, and a loss of history, all contributed to the destruction
of the cultural Matrix.