The crowd
a study of the popular mind
2nd ed.
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Description
"Gustave LeBon's The Crowd is not only a classic, but one of the best-selling scientific books in social psychology and collective behavior ever written. Here, LeBon analyzes the nature of crowds and their role in political movements. He presents crowd behavior as a problem of science and power, a natural phenomenon with practical implications. Originally published in 1895, LeBon's book was the first to expand the scope of inquiry beyond criminal crowds to include all possible kinds of collective phenomena. Its continuing significance is evident even in the Los Angeles riots of 1992 in which LeBon's theories were cited in testimony." "LeBon emphasizes the various areas of modern life where crowd behavior holds sway, particularly political upheavals. He focuses on electoral campaigns, parliaments, juries, labor agitation, and street demonstrations. At the same time, his treatment of crowds is far from complimentary. In a new introduction to this edition, Robert A. Nye presents a broad analytical understanding of the relationship between power and knowledge in crowd theory. He also discusses the historical circumstances and the various personalities who have shaped our understanding of crowds. Nye emphasizes The Crowd's continuing usefulness to cultural historians, psychologists, sociologists, and political scientists. He also places LeBon in a rich tradition of European social theory."--BOOK JACKET.
First Sentence
What constitutes a crowd from the psychological point of view-A numerically strong agglomeration of individuals does not suffice to form a crowd-Special characteristics of psychological crowds-The turning in a fixed direction of the ideas and sentiments of individuals composing such a crowd, and the disappearance of their personality-The crowd is always dominated by considerations of which it is unconscious-The disappearance of brain activity and the predominance of medullar activity-The lowering of the intelligence and the complete transformation of the sentiments-The transformed sentiments may be better or worse than those of the individuals of which the crowd is composed-A crowd is as easily heroic as criminal.
Excerpt
What constitutes a crowd from the psychological point of view-A numerically strong agglomeration of individuals does not suffice to form a crowd-Special characteristics of psychological crowds-The turning in a fixed direction of the ideas and sentiments of individuals composing such a crowd, and the disappearance of their personality-The crowd is always dominated by considerations of which it is unconscious-The disappearance of brain activity and the predominance of medullar activity-The lowering of the intelligence and the complete transformation of the sentiments-The transformed sentiments may be better or worse than those of the individuals of which the crowd is composed-A crowd is as easily heroic as criminal.
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