Gustave Le Bon (05/07/1841 - 12/13/1931) - French social psychologist, sociologist and amateur physicist. He is the author of several works in which he expounds theories of national traits, racial superiority, herd behavior and crowd psychology.
Gustave's work on crowd psychology became important in the first half of the 20th century, when it was used by media scholars such as Hadley Cantril and Herbert Blumer to describe the reactions of subordinate groups in the media.
Gustave Le Bon also contributed to the debate in physics about the nature of matter and energy. His book “The Evolution of Matter” was very popular in France, was reprinted 12 times and was received favorably by many physicists.
In 1896, Gustave reported that he was observing a new type of radiation, which the scientist designated as “black color,” but it was later proven that it did not exist.
Books (3)
Psychology of peoples and masses
The first part of the book talks about the formation and development of historical races, the role of great people and ideas, and how civilizations die. The second part of the book is devoted to the psychology of the crowd, the influence of ideas, feelings and beliefs on it, and ways to influence its different types.
Psychology of socialism
The book can currently be of great benefit in the fight against socialism and revolutionism. It went through five editions in France in a short period of time, was translated into several European languages and, one must think, managed to protect many minds from disastrous socialist and political hobbies.
The book, according to the famous socialist Sorel, “represents the most complete work published in France on socialism, deserving great attention due to the originality of the author’s ideas, which lead to the most serious reflection.” Indeed, the content of this book is very original and amazes with the strength and persuasiveness of the evidence presented, with complete objectivity of the research.
Psychology of crowds. Opinion and crowd
The brilliant works of Gustave Le Bon and Gabriel Tarde, which laid the foundation for social psychology (psychology of the masses) as an independent science.
The reader will be able to look at social processes in modern Russia with different eyes, and perceive information from the pages of newspapers or the TV screen differently after becoming acquainted with the works of two great French sociologists.
Reader comments
Tatiana/ 05/28/2017 "Psychology of Education" is already on sale. The book has been republished. You can buy it! Contact us! [email protected]
Andrey/ 03/14/2017 In a month the book “Psychology of Education” will be published. Can be ordered.
Boris/ 09/15/2015 interested in the evolution of matter and the evolution of forces
Guest/ 07/18/2014 ALMAS your ancestors fought with him and successfully set Germany - the brothers - against us - let the brothers destroy each other, more space will be left for you, and all this comes out precisely after reading the above-mentioned works, but however, this is the main essence of your mission to planet Earth.
Almas/ 04/12/2014 Genius? Are you kidding me? He's just a mediocre racist. In other matters, many stupid people of his era were of the same opinion. It’s a pity that Russian guys are so enthusiastic about a man whose ideology was one of those that underlay A. Hitler’s propaganda. Your grandfathers fought with him, and so did ours.
Gustav Le Bon, whose books are still of great interest to psychologists, sociologists, historians, etc., is considered the creator of social psychology. It was he who was able to most accurately describe the behavior of the crowd and the reasons behind the blind submission of the masses to dictators. Despite the fact that most of his works were written in the 19th century, the 20th century experienced the impressive influence of the results of his research. The most important direction in which Gustav Le Bon worked was psychology.
Education
Gustave Le Bon was born in Nogent-le-Rotrou, France, into a noble family. Despite the high-profile title, the Le Bon family lived very modestly, without luxury.
After graduating from classical school, Gustav entered the university in Paris at the Faculty of Medicine. His further education was associated with frequent movement between European, Asian and African educational institutions. Already while studying at the university, Le Bon began publishing his articles, which were positively received by readers and aroused interest in scientific circles.
Contribution to the development of medicine
Le Bon never practiced medicine, although his contribution to the development of medicine is assessed very highly, but it was carried out mainly through scientific publications. For example, based on the results of his research work, in the 60s of the nineteenth century, he wrote an article about diseases that occur in people living in damp areas.
Hobbies and first attempts to understand the reasons for this or that behavior of people in various situations
In addition to medicine, Le Bon enjoyed studying anthropology, archeology and sociology. He worked for some time as a military doctor at the front. The goal was to gain the opportunity to observe and study how people behave under critical conditions. In the early 1870s, his interest in psychology arose, which determined the further direction of his activity.
Major works
The main theme that Gustav Le Bon adhered to in his works was the philosophy of the crowd, its characteristics and motives. The most important and most popular work of Gustav Le Bon was the book “Psychology of Peoples and Masses”.
Being at the front and observing a large number of people provided the necessary basis for conclusions, and on the pages of this publication he was able to talk about how the motives of a particular human behavior are determined, and on the basis of these data he tried to explain the reasons for a number of historical events. Subsequently, “The Psychology of the Crowd” was also written, which won no less recognition, and then “The Psychology of Socialism”.
Influence on the course of history
Conducting all this research and clearly formulating conclusion after conclusion on the pages of his books, Le Bon did not suspect that his works would form the basis for the formation of the fascists. However, sadly, “Crowd Psychology” became a kind of teaching aid for Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.
Gustav Le Bon certainly did not expect that he would have such a significant impact on the course of history. Many of his conclusions were confirmed quite accurately, because the above dictators largely achieved their goals.
Unconscious Instincts Lead the Crowd
Being in fact the father of social psychology, Le Bon first attempted to explain the onset of a period in the existence of mankind when the masses become especially important. He believed that being in a crowd led to a person's intellectual abilities, sense of responsibility and criticality in relation to the situation decreasing. Instead, unconscious instincts take the reins, which determine the complex, but sometimes primitive behavior of large masses of people.
Le Bon believed that the least governable peoples of the countries in which the largest number of mestizos are concentrated. Such states need a very strong ruler, otherwise unrest and anarchy cannot be avoided.
Interesting conclusions were also drawn about how mass religions were inculcated. According to Le Bon, when this or that religion was implanted, the people accepted it, but not completely, but only by adding it to their old faith, that is, essentially changing the name and content, adapting the innovation to their usual religion. Thus, those religions that “descended” to the masses underwent many changes in the process of adaptation among the people of a particular nation.
Gustav Lebon: crowd and leader
A person who is among many others like him seems to be descending the ladder of his development, easily abandoning his principles, the conclusions that usually drive him when he is outside the crowd. He turns out to be prone to violence, excessive activity, which manifests itself both in a predisposition to arbitrariness and aggression, and in the manifestation of unprecedented enthusiasm in achieving his goals. Often an individual in a crowd acts contrary to his own interests and beliefs.
When working with a crowd, it is most effective to use simple and clear images that do not contain anything superfluous. Unless they can be supported by some unusual, amazing fact, for example, something miraculous or phenomenal.
According to Le Bon's theory, leaders are rarely among the people who think and reflect. More often than not, they are more inclined to act than others. It is extremely rare that they see the depth of the problem, because this weakens the will of the leader, leads to doubts and slowness. The leader is often unbalanced and impressionable, almost crazy. His idea and guidelines may be ridiculous, crazy, but it is difficult to stop him on the way to achieving his goal. A negative attitude inspires him, the torment he experiences is what brings true satisfaction to a real leader. Their faith in their own ideas and point of view is so firm and unshakable that the power with which they influence the minds of others increases a hundredfold. Masses of people tend to listen to just such a person who manages to maintain will, strength and desire. People who find themselves in a crowd most often do not possess them, so they unconsciously gravitate towards a stronger and stronger-willed person.
Leaders, according to Le Bon's theory, are categorical and decisive in the manifestation of power. Thanks to this determination, as well as a comprehensive uncompromisingness, they manage to force even the most obstinate and rebellious people to carry out their will, even if this is contrary to the true interests of the person. Leaders make changes to the existing order of affairs, forcing the majority to agree with their decisions and obey them.
No matter who the crowd consists of, it strives to be subordinate. The manifestation of power is alien to her, she is too weak for this, which is why she completely submits to the decisive leader, rejoicing at the opportunity to find herself in a position of obedience.
Education and erudition rarely keep pace with the qualities of a real leader, but if they exist, they will most likely bring misfortune to their owner. Being smart, a person inevitably becomes softer, because he has the opportunity to look deep into the situation, understand certain aspects of the people subordinate to him and involuntarily loosen his grip, shake his power. That is why most leaders at all times, as Gustav Le Bon believed, were very narrow-minded people; moreover, the more narrow-minded a person was, the greater his influence on the crowd.
This was Gustav Le Bon's point of view. It was these thoughts that formed the basis of two fundamental books that became textbooks for the most brutal dictators of the twentieth century. Of course, the scientist himself did not imagine that his works would have such admirers and followers.
Gustave Le Bon died at the age of 90 in 1931, at his home outside Paris.
Biography (Polina Chelpanova)
Gustave Le Bon was born in 1841 in Nogent-le-Rotrou, France, into a family with Breton and Burgundian roots. His family, despite the title of nobility, was not particularly rich and belonged to the so-called “middle class”. Little is known about the childhood of the future scientist. It is known that after graduating from the classical lyceum, Gustave began to study medicine at the University of Paris, and later he continued to study in Europe, Asia and North Africa. This was in the period 1860-1880, and then Le Bon had already begun to write his works, which were published at various times in medical publications.
Although Gustave Le Bon is considered a doctor, he never practiced and his contributions to medicine are based on his scientific articles.
So, in the early 1860s, Le Bon published a paper on chronic diseases of people who lived in swampy areas. A little later, he wrote an article about the phenomenon of fever during intoxication of the body; later this article was supplemented by a number of works on the topic of the same fever.
It is known that Le Bon’s scientific interests included, in addition to medicine, archaeology, anthropology and sociology.
His theme was both the statement and definition of the concept of human death, and in 1866 he published a book about this, but these works began to be of interest only a century later. During the same period (1860s), Le Bon also wrote on the topic of species reproduction in humans and animals, and this work of his went through many reprints.
In 1870–1771, Gustave volunteered for the front, where he worked as a military doctor, and this experience gave him material for research into human behavior in extreme conditions.
Later (after the 1870s), Le Bon became actively involved in issues of psychology, and it was he who was the first to put forward the theory that “psychology is a science necessary for the study of sociology and understanding the history of peoples.”
Real recognition came to the scientist in the mid-1890s, along with the publication of his book "The Psychology of Peoples and Masses" ("Les Lois psychologiques de l"evolution des peuples", English "The Psychology of Peoples"). This book was a detailed analysis of the psychology of the masses, thereby determining the motives of individual behavior and the causes of historical events. This work turned out to be widely discussed, and subsequently Le Bon wrote many more works on a similar topic, including “The Psychology of the Crowd” (“La psychologie des foules”, English "The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind", "Psychology of Socialism" ("Psychologie du socialisme", English "The Psychology of Socialism", 1908) and "The Evolution of Matter", 1912 ).
There is an opinion that the scientist’s work “Psychology of the Crowd” largely became a guide for the formation of the fascist theory of leadership, being a kind of “textbook” for Hitler (Adolf Hitler), who even referred to this book in his infamous book “Mein Kampf”.
In addition, he paid tribute to the work of Le Bon and Benito Mussolini, for whom “The Psychology of the Crowd” was almost a reference book.
The tragedy was that his “methods of influencing the crowd” were skillfully used by dictators, carefully studying them, and how correct Le Bon’s thoughts and research turned out to be can be judged in the course of history.
In general, the books of Gustave Le Bon were studied by the Russian politician Plekhanov, the French philosopher Georges Eugene Sorel, Mussolini, Hitler, the politician Gabriel Hanotaux, as well as Sigmund Freud.
Gustave Le Bon died on December 13, 1931, in the Parisian suburb of Marnes-la-Coquette, at the age of 90.
Biography (M.N. Mazanik)
Le Bon Gustave (1841-1931) - French sociologist, social psychologist, publicist, anthropologist and archaeologist. Main works: “Evolution of Matter” (1886), “Psychology of the Magician” (1895), “Psychology of Socialism” (second Russian edition, 1908), “Psychology of Revolutions”, “Psychology of the Crowd”, “Evolution of Forces” ( 1907) and others. In his works he addressed primarily the problems of the mass psyche and the psychology of peoples. He considered the socio-historical process as natural, purposeful and determining the unity of mental processes and phenomena regarded as common among representatives of one people. The totality of such characteristics determines the unity and specificity of the phenomena of social order inherent in a given people: the “soul of the people,” their feelings, beliefs, thoughts, institutions, arts; the mental structure of the people is quite stable and is associated with a certain socio-historical experience. Le Bon supported the ideas of a hierarchy of races and the determination of individual mental characteristics by race.
Analyzing the problems of the “psyche of crowds,” L, noted such features as its predominantly emotional nature, infection with a general idea, awareness of the insurmountability of one’s own strength, loss of a sense of responsibility, intolerance, dogmatism, suggestibility, impulsiveness and willingness to follow leaders. An individual in a crowd is characterized by the loss of individuality and the predominance of unconscious motives in his behavior; the “law of spiritual unity of the crowd” operates in the crowd; the individual rational principle is suppressed. From an elitist position, Le Bon assessed the history of civilization and made predictions regarding its future. In his opinion, cultural achievements are associated with the activities of a certain aristocratic principle, which creates and imposes ideas and models on the masses through approval, repetition and infection. He acted as an opponent of the ideas of democracy and equality.
According to Le Bon, the development of industry, mass communications, and the growth of cities will lead to the fact that public life will increasingly depend on the masses. As a result, society is entering an age of the masses, characterized by the dominance of "unconscious crowd activity." Le Bon identified the concepts of “mass” and “crowd”. Le Bon's theoretical and ideological positions were especially clearly reflected in his criticism of socialism and socialist ideas. Socialism, according to Le Bon, can only be realized as a society consisting of crowds of people unadapted to life and degenerates. Le Bon associated the possibility of the socialists coming to power with a peaceful or armed coup; the result of the establishment of a socialist system will be the nationalization of the economy, leading to its lag in comparison with other countries and to economic collapse. Socialism inevitably, as Le Bon believed, evolves towards anarchy and dictatorship.
Le Bon's work, being more journalistic than research in nature, nevertheless led to the creation of early versions of the concepts of mass society and mass culture, and influenced, in particular, Freud (the concept of the generic unconscious, etc.).
Gustave Le Bon about peoples and socialism in Russia... (Sociological encyclopedia in two volumes / Edited by G.Yu. Semigina, M., “Thought”, 2003, volume 2, p. 549.)
The Frenchman Gustave Le Bon (1841-1931) is known to most as the author of works devoted to the effects of crowds.
It is less known that G. Le Bon had an extremely negative attitude towards the ideas of equality, arguing that a natural consequence of the development of civilization is the differentiation of individuals and races, the normal relationships of which are unthinkable outside of a hierarchical structure.
In his publications, he “...divides races and peoples according to their level of development into four groups:
Primitive - those who stopped at the Stone Age level (Fijians, Australian aborigines);
- lower - those who have the beginnings of civilization (“blacks”);
- average - those who have a high type of civilization (Chinese, Japanese, Semites);
- the highest - Indo-Europeans with a characteristic high level of cultural development.
The main criterion for the development of a people is the ability to control their instincts. Acquiring power over themselves, the people realize the need for public self-sacrifice in the name of the national ideal, acquire the need for self-improvement, energy, will, predetermined by the racial factor, which also influences the people’s ability to perceive certain ideas, including socialist ones, which “like different institutions among peoples, are the consequences of their race." The people themselves are viewed as a pyramid, the base of which is made up of the dark masses, the middle part - the educated layers, the top - a small group of creative individuals (scientists, writers, artists), who achieved perfection in the process of strict social selection and determine the level of civilization of the country.
For Gustave Le Bon, socialist ideas are completely unacceptable, which, in his opinion, contradict the principles of democracy and freedom. He, however, recognized the power of their influence on the masses and the possibility of their implementation, at the same time warning his compatriots: “Since socialism must be tested in some way, because only such experience will heal peoples from their chimeras, then all our efforts must be directed towards so that this experience would be carried out outside our patronymic rather than within us.”
Biography (Encyclopedia of Sociology, 2009)
Le Bon Gustave (05/07/1841, Nogent-le-Rotrou - 12/15/1931, Paris) - French sociologist, social psychologist and publicist; He also dealt with issues of anthropology, archeology, and natural science. Following Gobineau, he defended the concept of racial determinism, emphasizing the hierarchical nature of racial division and the special significance of race in the development of civilization.
Le Bon believed that the decisive role in social processes is played not by reason, but by emotions. From the position of aristocracy, he opposed all forms of social equality and democracy, trying to prove that all achievements of civilization are the result of the activities of the elite. Le Bon is the author of one of the first concepts of mass society: identifying the mass with the crowd, he prophesied the advent of the “era of the masses” and the subsequent decline of civilization. As a result of the industrial revolution, the growth of cities and mass communications, modern life, according to Le Bon, is increasingly determined by the behavior of crowds, which always represent a blind, destructive force. In a crowd, individuals lose their sense of responsibility and find themselves at the mercy of irrational feelings, dogmatism, intolerance, and omnipotence, since they are governed by the law of “spiritual unity of the crowd.”
The books that literally revolutionized our understanding of the laws of social development and which revealed to us the secrets of how politicians control the minds of the masses were the books of the great French thinker, philosopher, economist and historian Gustav LeBon (1841-1931). These are the books “Psychology of Peoples and Masses” and “Psychology of Socialism”
"Psychology of Peoples and Masses" is a reference book for all politicians who have sought power. It was reread and carefully studied by Lenin, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin. It sets out the basic and simple principles of crowd behavior and describes how politicians can achieve success in the struggle for power.
The paradox and tragedy of the author is that, with a few exceptions, in this century the works of the famous encyclopedist Gustave Le Bon were studied in depth only by potential dictators. Those to whom the books were addressed by the author remained deaf to his warnings and foresights. The ghost still haunts Europe, as well as the rest of the world:
“Psychology of Socialism” is a work that largely overlaps with “Psychology of Peoples and Masses.” An analysis of why people's minds are dominated by the desire to “take away and divide.” Analysis and patterns of development of societies in Europe and America
The nature of beliefs, the attractiveness and deceptiveness of socialist and democratic ideas. The scenarios of events predicted by LeBon in this work came true with amazing accuracy in the twentieth century. This alone makes one read his books carefully.
In general, his works are a rare asset of sound thought. If you care about your fate and want to learn about how and in what direction, for example, our country is developing, read these books.
Le Bon attributed the most important role in social development to ideas imposed on the masses by a few leaders through affirmation, repetition and infection. He considered revolutions to be a manifestation of mass hysteria.
Works: 1) Evolution of civilization. O., 1895. 2) Psychology of peoples and masses. St. Petersburg, 1896. 3) Psychology of socialism. 2nd ed. St. Petersburg, 1908
Gustav Le Bon "Psychology of Socialism" (PREFACE. S. Budaevsky (1908))
Gustave Le Bon's book “The Psychology of Socialism” can currently be of great benefit in the fight against socialism and revolutionism. It went through five editions in France in a short period of time, was translated into several European languages and, one must think, managed to protect many minds from disastrous socialist and political hobbies.
Gustave Le Bon is a famous author of more than twenty scientific works on physical chemistry, physiology, anthropology, history, sociology and philosophy. The author's encyclopedicism and creativity are truly amazing. The book “Psychology of Socialism” is one of his later works, published after the works “Psychology of Education” and “Psychology of the Crowd”.
The book “Psychology of Socialism,” according to the famous socialist Sorel, “is the most complete work published in France on socialism, deserving great attention for the originality of the author’s ideas, which provoke the most serious reflection.” Indeed, the content of this book is very original and amazes with the strength and persuasiveness of the evidence presented, with complete objectivity of the research. The analysis of social phenomena relates almost exclusively to the life of Western peoples, and therefore this book is especially useful for the Russian reader, as an outside impartial spectator who can find in it an impressive and instructive warning. This book recalls historical examples of how dangerous enthusiasm for socialist utopias in general is, and with complete certainty clarifies the disastrous significance of all revolutions.
In addition, this book is of great pedagogical interest. In it, the author examines the meaning of education and compares its characters among the peoples of the Latin and Anglo-Saxon races; clarifies the harm of excessive bookishness and theoretical teaching and the power of true patriotism, without which no nation can be strong.
This book also touches on the great importance for the people of an army that is strong, first of all, in spirit, well trained and disciplined; The whole utopian nature of anti-militarism, which is now coming into fashion, has been fully clarified.
Other phenomena of national importance related to agriculture, industry, trade, finance, etc. are also examined; The conditions under which a given country can prosper and the reasons leading the country to decline are clarified.
There are, however, weaknesses in this book regarding the depth and completeness of the research, but there are very few such places, and they mostly concern not primary issues. Of the major issues, the analysis of which is poorly substantiated, only one can be noted: the comparison of Christian socialism with socialist utopias. Here the subjectivity of the author’s judgments took precedence over objectivity, and to restore balance it was necessary to make a footnote.
Despite these shortcomings, the book generally retains its merits. The general nature and calm nature of the study, with a generally accessible form of presentation, attunes the mind to “cautious conclusions, free from any bias and passion, and deepens thought to the very roots of the phenomena being studied.
The first edition of the complete Russian translation of this book, 3,200 copies, sold out in a very short time.
Biography (en.wikipedia.org)
Le Bon was born in France, in Nogent-le-Rotrou, and died in Marne-la-Coquette.
He studied medicine, then traveled through Europe, North Africa, and Asia in 1860-1880.
Le Bon's philosophical ideas
Le Bon was one of the first to try to theoretically substantiate the onset of the “era of the masses” and connect the general decline of culture with this. He believed that due to the volitional underdevelopment and low intellectual level of large masses of people, they are ruled by unconscious instincts, especially when a person finds himself in a crowd. Here the level of intelligence decreases, responsibility, independence, and criticality decrease, and the personality as such disappears.
He became famous for trying to show the commonality between the state of affairs and the laws in the psychology of the masses. American sociologist Neil Smelser writes that “despite criticism, Le Bon’s thoughts are interesting. He predicted the important role of the crowd in our time,” and also “characterized the methods of influencing the crowd that were later used by leaders like Hitler, for example, the use of simplified slogans.” [source not specified 1170 days].
Personal secretary of Stalin in the 20s. B.G. Bazhanov pointed out in his memoirs, with reference to Fotieva and Glyasser, that Le Bon’s book “Psychology of Peoples and Masses” was one of V.I.’s reference books. Lenin:
Main works
* "History of Arab Civilization" (1884)
* "History of the Civilizations of India" (1887)
* "Real Equestrianism" (1892)
* “Psychology of Nations and Masses” (1895)
* Psychology of Education (1902)
* "The Psychology of Socialism" (1908)
* "Evolution of Matter" (1912)
Literature
* Gustave Le Bon Psychology of peoples and masses. - M.: Academic project, 2011. - 238 p. - ISBN 978-5-8291-1283-7
* Pierre-Andre Taguieff Color and blood. French theories of racism = La couleur et le sang doctrines racistes a la francaise. - M.: Ladomir, 2009. - 240 p. - ISBN 978-5-86218-473-0
Notes
1. Boris Bazhanov. "Memoirs of Stalin's former secretary"
Gustave Le Bon is a French scientist-philosopher, sociologist, psychologist, physician, as well as physicist and chemist. The main topic of his interests was the psychology of the human masses, through which, thanks to which alone, it is possible to reveal the meaning of human history.
According to Le Bon, the masses can only be captured by deception and the creation of great illusions. Great figures in history achieve success only by understanding these truths and putting them into practice. Le Bon rejects other methods as useless and ineffective, explaining that the main mechanism of behavior of people, especially the human masses, is the unconscious. He seeks to prove that attempts to build human well-being on the ideals of rationalism are unsuccessful.
Le Bon's works include: “Man and Society” (1881), “Arab Civilization” (1884), “Civilization in India” (1887), “The First Civilizations of the East” (1889), “Thoughts and Beliefs” (1911), “French revolution and the psychology of revolutions" (1912), "The Life of Truth" (1914), "The Real Evolution of the World" (1927), "Scientific Foundations of the Philosophy of History" (1931), "Psychological Laws of the Evolution of Peoples" (1894), "Psychology of Peoples and masses" (1895), "Psychology of socialism" (1908), "Psychology of modern times" (1920), "Psychology of education" (1910).
The work “Psychology of Peoples and Masses” is a unique result of his research in historical psychology. If T. Carlyle considered heroes the driving force of history, then Le Bon shows “the role of great people in the development of civilization.” He emphasizes and insists that “the small selection of distinguished men whom a civilized nation has, and whom it would be sufficient to destroy in every generation to at once strike that people out of the list of civilized nations, constitute the true embodiment of the powers of the race.” It is these people who make progress in the sciences, arts, industry, and in all branches of civilization.
The crowd takes advantage of these achievements, but does not like those who rise above it, and it is these latter who become martyrs of the crowd. The idea of equality is destructive for nations, says Le Bon, although he is well aware of the ideas of the French Revolution about freedom, equality and fraternity. “For equality to reign in the world, it would be necessary to gradually reduce everything that constituted the value of a particular race to the level of what is lowest in it. It is impossible to elevate the intellectual level of the last of the peasants to the genius of any Lavoisier. It is easy to destroy such geniuses, but they cannot be replaced.”
In socio-political activities, fanaticism takes precedence over moderation. Fanatics with a limited mind, but an energetic character and strong passions can establish religions, empires, and raise the masses. An ideal is created regarding such people, it is worshiped, and then it is destroyed. Le Bon argues that the famous creators of various fata morgana radically transformed and changed the world because they embodied the dreams of the people. The power of influence of these people depends little on whether their ideas are true or not. History shows that the most ridiculous ideas have always had the greatest influence on people and played the most important role. Of all the factors in the development of civilization, illusions constitute the most powerful factor. It is not in the pursuit of truth, but rather in the pursuit of lies that humanity has spent most of its efforts. Setting chimerical goals, it, of course, did not achieve them. However, in harassing them, it achieved the progress it was not looking for.
Considering the masses as an inert, passive force that is only capable of living in illusions, Le Bon notes the desire of the masses for absolute, final truths. Meanwhile, Le Bon emphasizes, things themselves do not change. Only ideas about these things are subject to change. Crafty politicians rely on these ideas, which generally forms a demagogic lifestyle, the proclamation and perception of slogans, where every word seems to be understandable, but in general, who knows what this slogan means.
Le Bon complains that the main feature of his era is the replacement of the conscious activity of individuals with the unconscious activity of the crowd. The people can only play a destructive role, which leads to the collapse of civilization. At the same time, legislators and government officials must know the psychology of the masses, because the era that has come will be the era of the masses. Biologically and physiologically, this means the cessation of activity of the cerebral hemispheres and the dominance of spinal cord reflexes. Mental abilities are reduced. Due to the dominance of the instincts of the crowd, one can easily be incited to the “heroic,” but even easier to commit a crime. Later, E. Fromm copied all forms of “escape from freedom” from Le Bon.
Whatever the individuals may be with their character and intelligence, as soon as they fall into the crowd, this is enough for a collective soul to be formed in them, and they now think and act differently than outside the crowd. Here, according to Le Bon, the unconscious driving forces of behavior come into play, representing the soul of the race.
People differ in their conscious attitude to the world; they are unified in the deep driving forces of behavior. “In the collective soul, the intellectual abilities of individuals, their individuality, disappear; the heterogeneous is drowned in the homogeneous, unconscious qualities take over.” The crowd becomes irresponsible because it is anonymous. In a crowd, any feeling is contagious, so the individual sacrifices personal interests to collective ones. In a crowd, and this is the main thing, a person is suggestible. Conscious brain activity is paralyzed. The person is not aware of his actions and acts headlong. He turns into a robot who has no will of his own. A crowd can turn a coward into a hero, a skeptic into a believer, an honest person into a criminal. Le Bon specifically examines the feelings and morality of the crowd, its reasoning and imagination, and the religious forms in which its beliefs are embodied. He classifies mobs and gives detailed descriptions of criminal mobs, juries and criminal trials, and parliamentary assemblies.
First of all, the impulsiveness, fickleness and irritability of the crowd are striking. Let us recall the classic image of the crowd in the forum after the assassination of Caesar from Shakespeare's tragedy Julius Caesar. This scene is enough to contain all the theories and concepts of social psychology.
Le Bon gives other examples. The crowd is never prudent. She is intolerant, influenced by authority, and conservative. Even a temporary manifestation of revolutionary sentiments does not prevent the crowd from being conservative. Le Bon's significant remark: the normal state of a crowd that has encountered an obstacle is frenzy. The crowd, devoid of any critical faculties, appears as extremely frivolous. The mechanism for the formation of collective hallucinations is very active in it. Therefore, Le Bon notes that the most dubious events are those that were observed by the largest number of people. After the death of heroes, legends are created around them.
Le Bon traces the attitude towards Napoleon Bonaparte under the Bourbons as an idyllic philanthropist, then as a bloody despot who lost three million people just to satisfy his vanity. Now, Le Bon says, the old legend is returning. Some time will pass and scientists of the future, taking into account the contradictory information about the hero, will question his very existence, as was the case, in particular, with regard to the Buddha and other historical figures. Atheists in the 20th century. denied the existence of Christ as a historical figure, but recognized the existence of Buddha, Mohammed and other creators of world and regional religions: each era has its own legends. In the 20s of the XX century. atheists created their own atheistic spelling and wrote the name of the God-man with a small letter.
The crowd is characterized by simple and extreme feelings. She treats truth as absolute, and mistakes too. The individual experiences contradiction, the crowd never does. Intolerance and authority are characteristic of all categories of the crowd. The masses respect strength, but care little about kindness. Ready to oppose a weak government, the crowd slavishly bows to a strong government. Quickly tired of their problems, the crowd instinctively strives for slavery.
Psychologically, Le Bon explains these properties of the crowd by saying that it thinks in images that appear one after another without any connection. The best proof of truth for the crowd is the presence of the miraculous. In all religions, believers demand a miracle for proof. These and other facts give him the opportunity to assert that the miraculous and legendary are the true support for the development of civilization. A true demagogue knows how to influence the imagination of the crowd, which is the support of the miraculous. Evidence does not sway the crowd. It requires religious attitudes, since all beliefs can only be internalized if they are embodied in a religious form that does not admit of any objection. Even atheism, having mastered the crowd, turns into a cult.
Le Bon approaches the interaction between demagogues and the crowd from two sides: demagogues only capture the mood of the crowd and lead it along with them. However, the crowd determines what demagogues do. Le Bon argues: it was not kings who gave birth to St. Bartholomew's Night, religious wars in general, it was not Robespierre, Danton or Saint-Just who created terror. The soul of the crowd, and not the power of the ruling persons, participated in all relevant events.
Distant factors in the influence of the crowd are race, tradition, the character of the era, institution and education. Lebon also installs direct factors in the thoughts of the crowd, reminiscent of the image of the sphinx from the legend: we must either learn to solve the riddles of this creature, or it will swallow us. The important role here is played by the word, and not its real meaning. It would be possible to build a pyramid higher than that of Cheops, from the bones of only those people who fell victims to the power of words and formulas.
Le Bon rightly notes that very often words with a very vague meaning have the greatest influence on the crowd. This applies, in particular, to such terms as socialism, equality, freedom, etc. He himself sees in them a magical power, as if in these words there is a solution to all everyday problems. These words, he concludes, form a synthesis of all the various unconscious drives and hopes for their realization. Neither evidence nor belief can withstand known words and formulas. After social upheavals, statesmen must change words and slogans without changing the essence of things, because they are closely related to the spiritual heredity of the people. During the consulate and empire in France, the institutions and taxes remained the same. Only their name was changed.
The task of words, Le Bon argues, is to create an illusion. On this occasion, he gives an extended aphorism: most of the temples, statues, and altars were dedicated to the creators of illusions. The crowd needs illusions (after all, this is a factor of civilization). Therefore, he emphasizes as the main factor in the “evolution of peoples” not truth, but error. This is an old revelation of human culture, as pointed out by Dante, Rabelais, Shakespeare, Cervantes and others. Pushkin wrote the lines about this:
The darkness of low truths is dearer to us
A deception that exalts us.
Gustave Le Bon speaks about this in frank prose: whoever knows how to mislead the crowd easily becomes its ruler; whoever wants to reason with her becomes her victim. And then practical advice is offered. To convince the crowd, you must first become thoroughly familiar with the feelings that inspire them, pretend that you share them, and only then try to change them, evoking, with the help of primitive associations, any images that captivate the crowd. Let's remember Shakespeare: Mark Antony, in the forum near the body of the murdered Caesar, behaves exactly like this and finally takes complete control of the crowd.
Le Bon's additional recommendations concern execution: any slogan only influences people when it is repeated often and, preferably, in the same terms. Such repetition replaces rational proof. It is through repetition that an idea penetrates into the deep layers of the unconscious, in which the driving forces of our actions nest. .
Paraphrasing the ideas of Dostoevsky's "Grand Inquisitor", he concludes: "Race and the pressing problems of everyday life are the mysterious masters who direct the destiny of a nation." Psychology of propaganda of the 20th century. She didn’t say anything fundamentally new compared to Le Bon.
He also raises a number of questions about the movement of civilizations, their birth, flourishing and death, which has become a special subject of study by such luminaries of historical thought as W. Wundt, A. Toynbee and others.
Le Bon believes that many contemporary civilizations are already too outdated and are on the decline, and the interaction of ideal and material factors in the formation of civilization is considered. With the loss of an ideal, a race loses its soul and becomes a crowd. O. Spengler developed these ideas in the first quarter of the 20th century. in his "Twilight of Europe"
An analysis of Le Bon's work “The Psychology of Socialism,” carried out even before the advent of real socialism, contains a number of prophetic warnings regarding the implementation of his ideas. But this is a topic for a separate discussion.
Romenets V.A. History of psychology of the XIX-XX centuries. - Kyiv, Lybid, 2002
France
Biography
He studied medicine, then traveled through Europe, North Africa, and Asia in 1860-1880.
Le Bon's philosophical ideas
Le Bon was one of the first to try to theoretically substantiate the onset of the “era of the masses” and connect the general decline of culture with this. He believed that due to the volitional underdevelopment and low intellectual level of large masses of people, they are ruled by unconscious instincts, especially when a person finds himself in a crowd. Here the level of intelligence decreases, responsibility, independence, and criticality decrease, and the personality as such disappears.
He became famous for trying to show the commonality between the state of affairs and the laws in the psychology of the masses. American sociologist Neil Smelser writes that “despite criticism, Le Bon’s thoughts are interesting. He predicted the important role of the crowd in modern times,” and also “characterized the methods of influencing crowds that leaders like Hitler would later use, such as the use of simplistic slogans.”
Stalin's personal secretary in the 1920s, B. G. Bazhanov, indicated in his memoirs, with reference to Fotieva and Glyasser, that Le Bon's book “Psychology of Peoples and Masses” was one of V. I. Lenin’s reference books. However, in the memoirs we could also talk about the book “The Kingdom of the Crowd” (which was published in May 1917 by the “book publishing house of the Friends of Freedom and Order”), which is a brief translation of the work on the French revolution “La Révolution Française et la Psychologie des Révolutions” (1912) "
Main works
- "History of Arab civilization" ()
- "History of Indian Civilizations" ()
- "Modern horse riding" ()
- "Psychology of peoples and masses"
- "Psychology of Nations" ()
- "Psychology of the masses" ()
- "Psychology of education" ()
- "Psychology of Socialism" ()
- "Evolution of Matter" ()
The books “Psychology of Peoples” (Les Lois Psychologiques de l"Évolution des Peuples (1894)) and “Psychology of the Masses” (La Psychologie des Foules (1895)) in Russian translation are often combined into one or confused with each other. The book “Psychology of Peoples” ”is dedicated to racial theory, the book “Psychology of the Masses” (in other translations - “Psychology of the Crowd”) became the basis for PR technologies and techniques for manipulating mass consciousness. Under the title “Psychology of Peoples and Masses”, both a translation of both books together and one can be published. translation of either of the two books separately. Recently, the second book, “Psychology of the Masses,” is most often republished under this title.
Quotes
Let us not waste any more time in bickering and vain arguments. Let us learn to defend ourselves from the internal enemies that threaten us until we have to fight the external enemies that lie in wait for us. Let us not neglect even the lightest efforts and let us each make them in our own sphere, no matter how modest it may be. After all, huge mountains were formed from the accumulation of tiny grains of sand. We will constantly study the tasks that the sphinx sets for us, and which we must be able to solve in order not to be devoured by it. And even if we think to ourselves that such advice is as useless as wishing health to a sick person whose days are numbered, we will act as if we do not think so.
- The state in reality is ourselves, and we have only ourselves to blame for organizing it. (translation by S. Budaevsky, 1908)
- ...socialists do not offer their followers anything other than the hell of slavery and hopeless humiliation in exchange for personal freedom.
- The basic principle of English education is that the child goes through school not to be disciplined by others, but to learn the limits of his independence. He must discipline himself and thus acquire control over himself, from which self-government comes.
- The most essential qualities of the Anglo-Saxon race can, however, be expressed in a few words: initiative, energy, willpower and, in particular, self-control, that is, that internal discipline that saves a person from looking for guidance outside himself.
- In a word, the Englishman tries to raise his sons into people armed for life, capable of living and acting independently, and doing without constant guardianship, which people of the Latin race cannot get rid of. Such education first of all gives a person self-control - the ability to manage oneself, what I called internal discipline, and which constitutes the national virtue of the British, which almost alone could ensure the prosperity and greatness of the nation.
- The American view of the social significance of youth education is another reason for the stability of American institutions: given a certain minimum of knowledge, which they consider necessary to impart to children in primary schools, Americans believe that the main goal of teachers should be general education, and not teaching. Physical, moral and mental education, that is, the development of energy and endurance of the body, mind and character, is, in their opinion, the most important guarantee of success for every person. There is no doubt that the ability to work, the desire for inevitable success and the habit of tirelessly repeating efforts in the chosen direction are invaluable forces, since they can be applied at any time and in any activity, the stock of information, on the contrary, must change in accordance with the position occupied and the chosen activity . Preparing people for life, not for degrees, is an American ideal. Developing initiative and willpower, teaching one to use one’s own wits - these are the results of such education.
- The main thing that now gives the people the upper hand is persistent energy, the spirit of enterprise, initiative and methodology. The Latin peoples possess these qualities to a very weak degree. Their initiative, will and energy are weakening more and more, and therefore they had to gradually give way to those endowed with such qualities. The educational regime of youth is increasingly destroying what was left of these qualities. It is increasingly losing firmness of will, perseverance, initiative, and especially that internal discipline that makes a person independent, able to do without a leader.
- The social ideal of the Anglo-Saxons is very definite, and at the same time the same, both in England under the monarchical regime and in the United States under the republican regime. This ideal is to reduce the role of the state to a minimum, and to raise the role of each citizen to a maximum, which is completely opposite to the ideal of the Latin race. Railways, seaports, universities, schools, etc. are created exclusively by private initiative, and the state, especially in America, never has to deal with them.
- The most general characteristic features of the psychology of the Latin peoples can be summarized in a few lines. The main features of these peoples, especially the Celts: a very lively mind and very poorly developed initiative and constancy of will. Incapable of sustained effort, they prefer to be under someone else's leadership and attribute any failure not to themselves, but to their leaders. Inclined, as Caesar noted, to recklessly undertake wars, they become despondent at the first failures. They are fickle, like women. The great conqueror called this inconstancy Gallic weakness; it makes them slaves to every hobby. Perhaps their most accurate characteristic is the lack of internal discipline, which, while allowing a person to manage himself, prevents him from looking for a leader.
- The Anglo-Saxon bows to facts and the real demands of life, and no matter what happens to him, he never blames the government, paying very little attention to the apparent indications of logic. He believes in experience and knows that reason does not guide people.
- In countries where individual enterprise has long been developed and where the action of governments has become more limited, the consequences of modern economic evolution have been borne without difficulty. Countries where this entrepreneurial spirit did not exist among citizens found themselves unarmed, and their population was forced to resort to the help of their rulers, who for so many centuries thought and acted for them. In this way governments, continuing their traditional role, were brought to the task of directing so many industrial enterprises. But since the products produced under the control of the state are, for many reasons, expensive and slow in production, the peoples who left to the government what they should have done themselves found themselves in a less advantageous position than others.
- ...it is important to note, which I have already drawn attention to many times in my recent works, that peoples decline and disappear from the historical scene not due to a decrease in their mental abilities, but always due to a weakening of character. This law was once confirmed by the examples of Greece and Rome; many facts confirm its validity in our time.
- A civilized person cannot live without discipline. This discipline can be internal, that is, within himself, and external, that is, outside of him, and then, of necessity, it is imposed by others.
- The Latin peoples have always been great talkers, lovers of words and logic. Almost without dwelling on facts, they are carried away by ideas, as long as the latter are simple, general and beautifully expressed.
- It is well known in all countries of the world that enterprises conducted by private individuals, naturally interested in the success of the business, succeed much better than government enterprises, served by nameless agents with little interest in the business.
- A huge success would be to abandon our never-ending reform projects, the idea that we must constantly change our government, our institutions and our laws. First of all, we should constantly limit, and not expand, the intervention of the state so as to force our citizens to acquire at least a little of this initiative, this skill of self-government, which they lose due to the constant guardianship they require. But, I repeat again, why express such wishes? To hope for their fulfillment does not mean to wish that we could change our spirit and turn away the course of destinies? The most urgently needed, and perhaps the only truly useful, reform of our education would be. But it is also, unfortunately, the most difficult to implement; its implementation could truly lead to a real miracle - a change in our national spirit.
- Delving into the social life of a citizen, he (a foreigner) will see that if it is necessary to correct a source in a village, build a seaport or lay a railway, then they always appeal not to the state, but to personal initiative. Continuing his research, he soon learns that this people (the English), despite the shortcomings that make them the most intolerable of nations for a foreigner, are the only ones truly free, because they alone have learned the art of self-government and have managed to leave a minimum of active power to the government .
- ...he who does not know how to control himself is condemned to soon fall under the power of others.
- If it were necessary to evaluate the social level of peoples in history by one measure, then I would readily take as the scale the degree of ability to control one’s instincts.
- When you examine the causes that gradually led to the death of all the different nationalities about which history tells us, whether they be the Persians, the Romans or any other people, you see that the main factor in their fall was always the change in their mental makeup, resulting from the decline their character.
- Let us first summarize in a few words the characteristics of the Anglo-Saxon race which inhabited the United States. There is, perhaps, no one in the world with a more homogeneous and more definite mental make-up than the representatives of this race. The predominant features of this mental make-up, from the point of view of character, are: a reserve of will, which (perhaps with the exception of the Romans) very few peoples possessed, indomitable energy, very great initiative, absolute self-control, a sense of independence brought to extreme unsociability, powerful activity, very tenacious religious feelings, very strong morality and a very clear idea of \u200b\u200bduty. From an intellectual point of view, it is difficult to give a special characteristic, i.e. indicate those special features that could not be found in other civilized nations. One can only note his common sense, which allows him to grasp the practical and positive side of things on the fly and not wander into chimerical research, a very lively attitude to facts and a moderately calm attitude towards general ideas and religious traditions.
- Almost a century and a half has passed since poets and philosophers, extremely ignorant of the primitive history of man, the diversity of his mental structure and the laws of heredity, threw into the world the idea of \u200b\u200bthe equality of people and races.
- There is not a single psychologist, not a single enlightened statesman, and especially not a single traveler who does not know how false the chimerical concept of the equality of people is.
- …the mental void created by the past between men and races can only be filled by very slow hereditary accumulations.
- Faith has no other more serious enemy than faith.
- How many people are capable of understanding their own opinions, and how many opinions are there that could survive even the most superficial examination?
- It is not in the merits of any evidence that one should look for the essential elements of the mechanism of persuasion. They inspire their ideas by the prestige they possess, or by appealing to the passions, but no influence can be produced by appealing only to reason. The masses never allow themselves to be convinced by evidence, but only by statements, and the authority of these statements depends on the charm of the one who expresses them.
- Happiness depends very little on external circumstances, but a lot on the state of our soul. The martyrs at their stakes probably felt much happier than their executioners. A railway watchman who eats his garlic-rubbed crust of bread without a care may be infinitely happier than a millionaire besieged by worries.
- He who knows how to mislead the crowd easily becomes its ruler; whoever strives to reason with her always becomes her victim.
- ...to believe that forms of government and constitutions are of decisive importance in the fate of a people is to indulge in childhood dreams. His destiny lies only in himself, but not in external circumstances. All that can be demanded from the government is that it be the spokesman for the feelings and ideas of the people it is called upon to govern.