Thank you, Rita, for your valuable valuable comments. The German translation of the "Lonely Crowd" was "Die einsame Masse". I am not quite sure how serius Hofstätter was when he propsed the translation "Die ängstliche Masse". His idea was not based on logic, only on the semantic profiles of these two words. Your interpretations of Stern's theory is what Stern himself means with his idea of "Lügenkeime". First you are afraid or anxious, then you solve your problem telling small lies, then bigger lies, and you end up gradually adopting a lifestyle that is based on lies, if you continue to be successful.