You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by annabanana96
Gustave Le Bon, The Crowd and The Psychology of Revolution by Gustave Le Bon
2.0
I was very excited to read this book because the title promises a thorough investigation into the psychology of a crowd. It’s a topic I am very invested and interested it. Yet, the book delivers nothing on that promise.
Its key points are:
1. Masses are mainly a dumb blob of people willing to do anything when addressed appropriately.
2. Masses are mobilised not by a speech full of truth and facts, but by emotion and emotion alone. Duh.
These points are talked about a lot but le Bon doesn’t go into any psychological or sociological depths worth mentioning. I learnt absolutely nothing new from this book.
I have read a few of the older key philosophical works (Montesquieu, Rousseau, Locke, Adam Smith) and usually I enjoy their universal approach to their topic, mixing philosophy, history, mythology, economics etc. Le Bon does so as well, but it adds no valuable extra information regarding the key topic. To finish it all of, I have never read any historical book with so much racism and sexism (I know, I know, it was the general view of the time, but then at least tell me something new and interesting, old white man).
Its key points are:
1. Masses are mainly a dumb blob of people willing to do anything when addressed appropriately.
2. Masses are mobilised not by a speech full of truth and facts, but by emotion and emotion alone. Duh.
These points are talked about a lot but le Bon doesn’t go into any psychological or sociological depths worth mentioning. I learnt absolutely nothing new from this book.
I have read a few of the older key philosophical works (Montesquieu, Rousseau, Locke, Adam Smith) and usually I enjoy their universal approach to their topic, mixing philosophy, history, mythology, economics etc. Le Bon does so as well, but it adds no valuable extra information regarding the key topic. To finish it all of, I have never read any historical book with so much racism and sexism (I know, I know, it was the general view of the time, but then at least tell me something new and interesting, old white man).