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The charismatic leader is experienced by his followers as having special powers. His charismatic behavior is said to stem from his turning a passive wish into an
active one. Classical, biblical, sociological, and psychoanalytic considerations of charisma are examined. Of the latter, Arlow's ideas about the group's shared unconscious fantasies and Anna Freud's concept of identification with the aggressor are touched on. More attention is given to Camic's use of Freud's structural theory and its insights into the charismatic personality. The authors criticize Camic for not clarifying his use of the term transference and not exploring closely enough the inner needs of the charismatic leader and his followers. For Camic, the leader's omnipotence gratifies the followers' dependency needs. Ego ideal needs are gratified by basking in the leader's presumed excellence. Leaders who embody the superego are experienced as having excellence; those who represent id aims are called uncanny. The authors see "charismatically susceptible" people as having weakly delineated psychic structures. As a result, they are drawn to leaders who gratify wishes that seem to strengthen the inner boundaries between the psychic agencies. In Freud's writing on group psychology, the group leader is seen as providing a libidinal focus that stems the regressive pull of the primitive group. Love for the leader enhances the sharing of common ideals and increases identification among group members. The followers' passivity, coupled with the leader's need to turn passive into active, increases the bond between leader and led.