The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind

In this book, Gustave Le Bon presents a classification of crowds according to their psychological, social, doctrinal, and religious conditions, clarifying the role that morals and emotions play in shaping the beliefs that drive the course of history. The author follows a method based on scientific principles, without regard to biased opinions and doctrines.He addresses the general characteristics of crowds, the law of their intellectual and psychological unity, and the extent to which customs and traditions influence their orientations; for traditions, at their core, are founded on the idea of the crowd—that is, the unification of all intellectual currents and dynamic forces that constitute the group in a single direction. The author also explains the degree to which crowds are influenced by symbols and signs that contribute to directing these groups toward a particular idea.