The Behavior of Crowds: A Psychological Study

A systematic psychological examination of crowd phenomena analyzes how groups form, lose individual responsibility, and adopt uniform modes of thought. Drawing on psychoanalytic ideas, the work argues that many crowd traits stem from unconscious motivations, self-deception, and simplified impulses such as hate and absolutist belief. It traces the progression from routine mobs to revolutionary movements, shows how one form of crowd-tyranny can replace another, and considers implications for politics and civil liberty. The conclusion proposes education grounded in humanist habits of thought as the primary means to weaken crowd-thinking and to cultivate independent judgment.