The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind

by Gustave Le Bon

Overview

In The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind, social theorist Gustave Le Bon gives historical insight into the political thinking of his era while offering timeless social commentary. Le Bon challenges the reader to contemplate how individual ideas change-often to a destructive end-when employed in a setting of groupthink. As technology and communications innovations make group formation easy and accessible for better or for worse, this book's message is certainly one that will not be lost in the crowd.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781453826676
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	09/17/2010
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	122
Product dimensions:	7.99(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.26(d)

About the Author

Charles-Marie Gustave Le Bon (May 7, 1841-December 13, 1931) was one of France's most famous polymaths, who wrote and studied extensively in the fields of anthropology, psychology, and science. His best-known work, The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind, is reputed to have been influential in the thinking of historical figures such as Theodore Roosevelt, Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, and Vladimir Lenin-due to his interpretation of the effects of crowd psychology and propaganda.

Table of Contents

	Introduction: The Era of Crowds	ix
Book I	The Mind of Crowds
Chapter I	General Characteristics of Crowds--Psychological Law of Their Mental Unity	1
Chapter II	The Sentiments and Morality of Crowds	10
Chapter III	The Ideas, Reasoning Power, and Imagination of Crowds	29
Chapter IV	A Religious Shape Assumed by All the Convictions of Crowds	38
Book II	The Opinions and Beliefs of Crowds
Chapter I	Remote Factors of the Opinions and Beliefs of Crowds	43
Chapter II	The Immediate Factors of the Opinions of Crowds	60
Chapter III	The Leaders of Crowds and Their Means of Persuasion	72
Chapter IV	Limitations of the Variability of the Beliefs and Opinions of Crowds	89
Book III	The Classification and Description of the Different Kinds of Crowds
Chapter I	The Classification of Crowds	100
Chapter II	Crowds Termed Criminal Crowds	104
Chapter III	Criminal Juries	108
Chapter IV	Electoral Crowds	114
Chapter V	Parliamentary Assemblies	123