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The Psychology of Revolution

  
[title page]
  
CONTENTS
 1. 
PART I THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ELEMENTS OF REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS BOOK I GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF REVOLUTIONS
 2. 
BOOK II THE FORMS OF MENTALITY PREVALENT DURING REVOLUTION
 2. 
PART II BOOK I THE ORIGINS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
 2. 
BOOK II THE RATIONAL, AFFECTIVE, MYSTIC, AND COLLECTIVE INFLUENCES ACTIVE DURING THE REVOLUTION
 3. 
BOOK III THE CONFLICT BETWEEN ANCESTRAL INFLUENCES AND REVOLUTIONARY PRINCIPLES
 3. 
PART III THE RECENT EVOLUTION OF THE REVOLUTIONARY PRINCIPLES

  
The Psychology of Revolution INTRODUCTION THE REVISION OF HISTORY
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PART I THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ELEMENTS OF REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS
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BOOK I
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GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF REVOLUTIONS CHAPTER I SCIENTIFIC AND POLITICAL REVOLUTIONS
 1. 
1. Classification of Revolutions.
 2. 
2. Scientific Revolutions.
 3. 
3. Political Revolutions.
 4. 
4. The Results of Political Revolutions.
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CHAPTER II RELIGIOUS REVOLUTIONS
 1. 
1. The importance of the study of Religious Revolutions in respect of the comprehension of the great Political Revolutions.
 2. 
2. The beginnings of the Reformation and its first disciples.
 3. 
3. Rational value of the doctrines of the Reformation.
 4. 
4. Propagation of the Reformation.
 5. 
5. Conflict between different religious beliefs— Impossibility of Tolerance.
 6. 
6. The results of Religious Revolutions.
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CHAPTER III THE ACTION OF GOVERNMENTS IN REVOLUTIONS
 1. 
1. The feeble resistance of Governments in time of Revolution.
 2. 
2. How the resistance of Governments may overcome Revolution.
 3. 
3. Revolutions effected by Governments.—Examples: China, Turkey, &c.
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CHAPTER IV THE PART PLAYED BY THE PEOPLE IN REVOLUTIONS
 1. 
1. The stability and malleability of the national mind.
 1. 
2. How the people regards Revolution.
 3. 
The supposed Part of the People during Revolution.
 4. 
4. The Popular Entity and its Constituent Elements.
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BOOK II THE FORMS OF MENTALITY PREVALENT DURING REVOLUTION
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CHAPTER I INDIVIDUAL VARIATIONS OF CHARACTER IN TIME OF REVOLUTION
 1. 
1. Transformations of Personality.
 2. 
2. Elements of Character Predominant in Time of Revolution.
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CHAPTER II THE MYSTIC MENTALITY AND THE JACOBIN MENTALITY
 1. 
1. Classification of Mentalities predominant in Time of Revolution.
 2. 
2. The Mystic Mentality.
 3. 
3. The Jacobin Mentality.
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CHAPTER III THE REVOLUTIONARY AND CRIMINAL MENTALITIES
 1. 
1. The Revolutionary Mentality.
 2. 
2. The Criminal Mentality.
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CHAPTER IV THE PSYCHOLOGY OF REVOLUTIONARY CROWDS
 1. 
1. General Characteristics of the Crowd.
 1. 
2. How the Stability of the Racial Mind limits the Oscillations of the Mind of the Crowd.
 4. 
4. The Rôle of the Leader in Revolutionary Movements.
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CHAPTER V THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE REVOLUTIONARY ASSEMBLIES
 1. 
1. Psychological Characteristics of the great Revolutionary Assemblies.
 3. 
3. A Suggested Explanation of the Progressive Exaggeration of Sentiments in Assemblies.
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PART II THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
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BOOK I THE ORIGINS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
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CHAPTER I THE OPINIONS OF HISTORIANS CONCERNING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
 1. 
1. The Historians of the Revolution.
 2. 
2. The Theory of Fatalism in respect of the Revolution.
 3. 
3. The Hesitations of recent Historians of the Revolution.
 4. 
4. Impartiality in History.
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CHAPTER II THE PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE ANCIEN RÉGIME
 1. 
1. The Absolute Monarchy and the Bases of the Ancien Régime.
 2. 
2. The Inconveniences of the Ancien Régime
 3. 
3. Life under the Ancien Régime.
 4. 
4. Evolution of Monarchical Feeling during the Revolution.
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CHAPTER III MENTAL ANARCHY AT THE TIME OF THE REVOLUTION AND THE INFLUENCE ATTRIBUTED TO THE PHILOSOPHERS
 1. 
1. Origin and Propagation of Revolutionary Ideas.
 2. 
2. The supposed Influence of the Philosophers of the Eighteenth Century upon the Genesis of the Revolution—Their dislike of Democracy.
 3. 
3. The Philosophical Ideas of the Bourgeoisie at the Time of the Revolution.
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CHAPTER IV PSYCHOLOGICAL ILLUSIONS RESPECTING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
 1. 
1. Illusions respecting Primitive Man, the Return to a State of Nature, and the Psychology of the People.
 1. 
2. Illusions respecting the Possibility of separating Man from his Past and the Power of Transformation attributed to the Law.
 2. 
3. Illusions respecting the Theoretical Value of the great Revolutionary Principles.
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BOOK II THE RATIONAL, AFFECTIVE, MYSTIC, AND COLLECTIVE INFLUENCES ACTIVE DURING THE REVOLUTION
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CHAPTER I THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY
 1. 
1. Psychological Influences active during the French Revolution.
 2. 
2. Dissolution of the Ancien Régime. The assembling of the States General.
 3. 
3. The Constituent Assembly.
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CHAPTER II THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
 1. 
1. Political Events during the Life of the Legislative Assembly.
 2. 
2. Mental Characteristics of the Legislative Assembly.
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CHAPTER III THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE CONVENTION
 1. 
1. The Legend of the Convention.
 2. 
2. Results of the Triumph of the Jacobin Religion
 3. 
3. Mental Characteristics of the Convention.
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CHAPTER IV THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CONVENTION
 1. 
1. The activity of the Clubs and the Commune during the Convention.
 2. 
2. The Government of France during the Convention—The Terror.
 3. 
3. The End of the Convention. The Beginnings of the Directory.
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CHAPTER V INSTANCES OF REVOLUTIONARY VIOLENCE
 1. 
1. Psychological Causes of Revolutionary Violence.
 2. 
2. The Revolutionary Tribunals.
 3. 
3. The Terror in the Provinces.
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CHAPTER VI THE ARMIES OF THE REVOLUTION
 1. 
1. The Revolutionary Assemblies and the Armies.
 2. 
2. The Struggle of Europe against the Revolution.
 3. 
3. Psychological and Military Factors which determined the Success of the Revolutionary Armies.
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CHAPTER VII PSYCHOLOGY OF THE LEADERS OF THE REVOLUTION
 1. 
1. Mentality of the Men of the Revolution. The respective Influence of Violent and Feeble Characters.
 2. 
2. Psychology of the Commissaries or Representatives “on Mission.”
 3. 
3. Danton and Robespierre.
 4. 
4. Fouquier-Tinville, Marat, Billaud-Varenne, &c.
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BOOK III THE CONFLICT BETWEEN ANCESTRAL INFLUENCES AND REVOLUTIONARY PRINCIPLES
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CHAPTER I THE LAST CONVULSIONS OF ANARCHY—THE DIRECTORY
 1. 
1. The Psychology of the Directory.
 2. 
2. Despotic Government of the Directory. Recrudescence of the Terror.
 3. 
3. The Advent of Bonaparte.
 4. 
4. Causes of the Duration of the Revolution.
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CHAPTER II THE RESTORATION OF ORDER. THE CONSULAR REPUBLIC
 1. 
1. How the Work of the Revolution was Confirmed by the Consulate.
 2. 
2. The Reorganisation of France by the Consulate.
 3. 
3. Psychological Elements which determined the Success of the Work of the Consulate
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CHAPTER III POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE CONFLICT BETWEEN TRADITIONS AND REVOLUTIONARY PRINCIPLES DURING THE LAST CENTURY
 1. 
1. The Psychological Causes of the continued Revolutionary Movements to which France has been subject.
 2. 
2. Summary of a Century's Revolutionary Movement in France.
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PART III THE RECENT EVOLUTION OF THE REVOLUTIONARY PRINCIPLES
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[book]
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CHAPTER I THE PROGRESS OF DEMOCRATIC BELIEFS SINCE THE REVOLUTION
 1. 
1. Gradual Propagation of Democratic Ideas after the Revolution.
 2. 
2. The Unequal Influence of the Three Fundamental Principles of the Revolution.
 3. 
3. The Democracy of the “Intellectuals” and Popular Democracy.
 4. 
2. Natural Inequalities and Democratic Equalisation.
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CHAPTER II THE RESULTS OF DEMOCRATIC EVOLUTION
 1. 
1. The Influence upon Social Evolution of Theories of no Rational Value.
 2. 
2. The Jacobin Spirit and the Mentality created by Democratic Beliefs.
 3. 
3. Universal Suffrage and its Representatives.
 4. 
4. The Craving for Reforms.
 5. 
5. Social Distinctions in Democracies and Democratic Ideas in Various Countries.
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CHAPTER III THE NEW FORMS OF DEMOCRATIC BELIEF
 1. 
1. The Conflict between Capital and Labour.
 2. 
2. The Evolution of the Working-Classes and the Syndicalist Movement.
 3. 
3. Why certain modern Democratic Governments are gradually being transformed into Governments by Administrative Castes.
 4. 
CONCLUSIONS

  
[note]
  
INDEX (Names of Historians, etc., cited in italics.)
  
“The Most Brilliant Historical Work of Years” By Guglielmo Ferrero The Greatness and Decline of Rome
  
Characters and Events of Roman History From Cæsar to Nero (60 B.C.-70 A.D.) Authorized Translation by Frances Lance Ferreo 8vo. With Portrait. $2.50 net
  
THE DEVELOPMENT of THE EUROPEAN NATIONS 1870-1900 By JOHN HOLLAND ROSE, Litt.D. Reader in Modern History to the University of Cambridge, Author of “The Personality of Napoleon” 8vo. 2 vols., with maps. Net, $5.00 Carriage 50 cents
  
THE EVOLUTION OF STATES AN INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH POLITICS By J. M. ROBERTSON Author of “Patriotism and Empire,” “Trade and Tariffs,” etc. 80. $2.50 net. By mail, $2.75
  
Symbol and Satire in the French Revolution By Ernest F. Henderson Ph.D. (Berlin), L.H.D. (Trinity) 80. With 171 Illustrations Reproduced from Contemporary Prints. $4.00 net. By mail, $4.25 Contents: Introductory—Liberty—Equality —Fraternity—Flight—Probation—Downfall— Massacre—War—Proscription— Terror—Idolatry—Reaction—Index.
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2. The Unequal Influence of the Three Fundamental Principles of the Revolution.

The heritage of the Revolution is summed up in its entirety in the one phrase—Liberty, equality, and Fraternity. The principle of equality, as we have seen, has exerted a powerful influence, but the two others did not share its lot.

Although the sense of these terms seems clear enough, they were comprehended in very different fashions according to men and times. We know that the various interpretation of the same words by persons of different mentality has been one of the most frequent causes of the conflicts of history.

To the member of the Convention liberty signified merely the exercise of its unlimited despotism. To a young modern “intellectual” the same word means a general release from everything irksome: tradition, law, superiority, &c. To the modern Jacobin liberty consists especially in the right to persecute his adversaries.

Although political orators still occasionally mention liberty in their speeches, they have generally ceased to evoke fraternity. It is the conflict of the different classes and not their alliance that they teach to-day. Never did a more profound hatred divide the various strata of society and the political parties which lead them.

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But while liberty has become very doubtful and fraternity has completely vanished, the principle of equality has grown unchecked. It has been supreme in all the political upheavals of which France has been the stage during the last century, and has reached such a development that our political and social life, our laws, manners, and customs are at least in theory based on this principle. It constitutes the real legacy of the Revolution. The craving for equality, not only before the law, but in position and fortune, is the very pivot of the last product of democracy: Socialism. This craving is so powerful that it is spreading in all directions, although in contradiction with all biological and economic laws. It is a new phase of the interrupted struggle of the sentiments against reason, in which reason so rarely triumphs.

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