MY COMMENTS :
Written by a psychologist named Gustave Le Bon, the work discusses the mindset of the masses, how they can be managed, and previous examples of this issue.
It is seen that the author naturally used the years following the French Revolution in his examples when he wrote the work and gave examples of leaders from the Napoleonic period before it.
It was mentioned that no matter how developed the intelligence and intellectual background of the individuals within the masses are, they behave equally with the same feelings and emotions within the masses, and therefore it was stated that the masses will be a very important tool in the governance of the country with their governance styles in the new century.
In addition, the author, who made important observations about the Latin education system, clearly stated that this education system adopted the rote learning method designed to train civil servants who had no intention of starting a business.
In this regard, it has been particularly mentioned that students who are subject to technical high schools and general education standards cannot show sufficient development and subsequently become more rebellious against society and prone to crime. When we see the stages our country has gone through from the past to the present in terms of education and training policies, it is obvious that sufficient progress has not been made and this system continues with minor changes.
As can be seen in the quotes, he sees race as one of the important factors of mass consciousness. Although the sentence in the quote refers to today's skull structure and anatomical race, he also stated that the definition of race in the human age has been constantly changing. Therefore, he clearly states that although the words are the same, the meanings they express stimulate different minds and ideas according to the conditions of the period.
Again, although the author prefers a pessimistic narrative language regarding the masses expressed in the quotes believing in a dream, it is obvious that those who generally block the dreams of societies and administrators can never be called leaders or leaders. However, leaders who push their countries to dream in pursuit of certain goals and then make them feel that these dreams are coming true step by step are defined as rare personalities who expand their influence both in their own masses and in other masses.
In some places, the author gives examples of great leader personalities, sometimes mentioning their impact on people in their bilateral relations and sometimes mentioning their ability to spread important discourses to their masses by using the art of eloquence in a short and memorable way. He also specifically stated that such identities are very rare. However, he stated that in order for people with leadership characteristics to increase their influence and impact, they sometimes have to resort to much stricter methods than an ordinary person should. Therefore, it is clearly understood from this work that people with leadership characteristics in the administration of the state and country must be tougher than average people or artists in other segments of society. Therefore, just like in law, it is useful to evaluate everyone according to the rules of the time and conditions in which they are located.
The author, who also made important observations regarding the concept of civilization, mentioned that civilization is dependent on traditions and that traditions, contrary to everyone's opinion, are a concept that needs to develop and change itself, even if only a little. One of the reasons for this is that, in addition to changing social conditions and technological advances, it is stated that adapting people to the conditions of education and culture is one of the important requirements for the advancement of civilization.
As a result, the work is an important textbook for those who are interested in psychology and sociology, as well as those who want to gain an idea about other human sciences and improve themselves.
MY QUOTATIONS(*) :
One of the fundamental characteristics of our age is that the unconscious movements of the masses have turned into highly conscious and appropriate activities of individuals.
Although our old beliefs have been shaken and lost, and the old pillars of our societies have been torn down one by one, the pressure and influence of the crowd has become a power that is not dominated by anything and whose dominance is ever growing. Therefore, the age we are entering will truly be the Age of the Masses.
The fate of nations is no longer prepared in the courts of rulers, but in the souls of the masses.
Civilizations have so far been created and governed by a small aristocracy of ideas. Never by the masses. The crowds have only destructive power. Their superiority and dominance always mean chaos and disorder. A civilization must have unchangeable rules, a discipline. When the structure of a civilization decays, the masses hasten its collapse.
Thousands of people gathered in an area without a specific purpose will never constitute a psychological mass. In order to become a mass, some stimulating factors must be present.
No doubt, crowds often commit murder, but they are also often heroes. They can easily sacrifice their lives for the victory of a belief.
It is needless to add that the exaggeration of the masses is by no means a matter of intelligence, but of feeling.
Napoleon said in the Council of State: " I won the Vendee War by converting myself to Catholicism, I settled in Egypt after showing myself to be a Muslim, I gained priests in Italy as evidence that I was in favor of spreading the Pope's influence. If I had ruled over a Jewish people, I would have rebuilt the Temple of Solomon. "
A person is not religious merely because he believes in a supreme being; he is religious when he devotes all the powers of his soul, all the obedience of his will, the fires of his fanaticism (being partial to something or someone) to the service of a cause or a person who has guided his feelings and actions.
There can be no civilization without tradition, that is, without a national spirit. Since the day man came into being, he has been occupied with two things: Creating a chain of traditions for himself and destroying these traditions after their beneficial effects have worn away. There can be no civilization without an ingrained tradition. And if these traditions are not gradually changed, there will be no progress.
In social events, as in biological events, one of the most powerful influences is time. Time is the greatest creator and the most powerful destroyer.
Statistics confirm this view by stating that murders increase in proportion to the generalization of education, and that the most vicious enemies of society, the anarchists, are recruited from among those who graduate with honors from their schools. Guillot, a well-known judge, has pointed out that for every thousand illiterate murderers there are three thousand educated murderers today. He adds that most of the murders are committed by young people who have graduated from free and compulsory educational institutions, which have replaced the patronage institutions (vocational schools run by industrial owners and masters).
The first danger of this education, which is most accurately described with the Latin adjective, is that it is based on a serious pedagogical error: This error is to think that memorizing books improves intelligence.
Instead of preparing young people to earn their living, school prepares them for civil service positions, which do not require the slightest effort to achieve success.
Gaining knowledge that is practically useless is the most suitable tool to make a person rebellious. (Since the British opened schools not to educate as in England, but only to inform the natives, an army of educated people has emerged in India. When these educated people, called Babou, could not find a job for themselves, they became the implacable enemies of British rule. The first effect of education on the Babou, whether they were civil servants or idle people, was to degrade their moral level to the utmost.)
Ideas only emerge in their natural and customary environments. Since words have no connection with the meaning of the images they evoke in the mind, these images change from age to age and from people to people, even though the formulas remain the same. Words live on just like ideas.
The power of words is so great that well-chosen words can provide the purpose to make people accept the most disgusting things.
Within society, the same words have different meanings for different social classes. Different classes of society use the same words, but the language they speak is not the same.
The masses have never thirsted for the truth. Those who manage to draw the masses into their dreams dominate them. Those who destroy the dreams of the masses and extinguish their hopes become their victims.
Leaders emerge especially from among those who are neurotic, excitable by nature, and those who live on the edge of madness.
Instilling faith in a person means increasing his strength tenfold.
Ideas, feelings, emotions and beliefs have a powerful effect on the masses, as much as the contagion of microbes.
Like animals, humans are imitators by nature. Imitation is a need for humans, as long as imitation is easy.
The old revolutionary general Vandamme, who was tougher and more energetic than Augereau, said the following to General Ornano about Napoleon one day in 1815, while climbing the stairs of the Tuilere Palace: “ My dear, this devil bewitches me with an incantation that I cannot understand, so that I, who fear neither the devil nor god, tremble like a child when I approach him, and then he can pass me through the eye of a needle to throw me into the fire .” This mind-numbing power of influence explains that miraculous return from the island of Elba. One look at the sworn generals who came to capture him was enough for them to surrender without resistance. The English general Wolseley writes: “ Napoleon escaped from the island of Elba, his kingdom, landed alone in France, and in a few weeks, without bloodshed, overturned all the institutions of the French state under the rule of its legitimate king .”
The radicals had discovered that a centralized republic is a monarchy in disguise.
A person's knowledge of Greek and mathematics, his being an architect, a doctor, a veterinarian or a lawyer does not give him a special light in emotional matters.
The Jacobins provided the most typical example of simplicity in assemblies in our Great Revolution. It has been rightly said of them, " They passed through the middle of the Revolution without seeing it ."
It is useful for leaders to resort to incredible exaggeration.
The peoples, who have fallen victim to the erroneous illusion that freedom and equality will be better protected by the increasing number of laws, are surrendering themselves to heavier and more intolerable yokes every day.
MY EVALUATIONS:
Subject : The work covers the mindset of the masses, how they can be managed, and previous examples of this issue.
Style: The author has used an analytical narrative method and has meticulously organized the subheadings related to the subject. Although it is written in a didactic style, the use of understandable expressions without much technical jargon is a factor that makes it easier for the work to appeal to readers of all ages. However, it should be said that using the art of exemplification a little more and in impressive sections would ensure that the messages intended to be given would be better conveyed to the reader.
Fluency : When the type of the book is taken into account, it is obvious that it is more static than event-based books such as novels and stories. However, such a work written in a didactic style should not be expected to be gripping. However, although the topics are written in an analytical structure, it should be said that sometimes the lack of examples has a small negative effect on the fluency element. However, it should be stated that it is definitely a book that can be considered fluent according to its type.
General : In the evaluation made out of 10 according to the criteria stated above:
Subject: 8
Style: 7.5
Fluency: 7
The overall average of the work that received the points is 7.5 points . When the type of the work is taken into consideration, it is seen that it has clearly passed the 7 threshold. It definitely deserves to be examined for a book that deals with specific branches. It should be stated that it is an important work for readers of all ages to notice the important elements in the state system in particular.
(*) : All parts in the title Quotations:
CROWD PSYCHOLOGY
Author : Gustave Le Bon
Publisher : Olympia Publications
Edition : 1st Edition
The photo used on the cover was used as a quote from the book.
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