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University of Virginia Library

The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind

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INTRODUCTION. THE ERA OF CROWDS.

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1.

BOOK I. THE MIND OF CROWDS.

1.1.

CHAPTER I. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CROWDS. — PYSCHOLOGICAL LAW OF THEIR MENTAL UNITY.

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1.2.

CHAPTER II. THE SENTIMENTS AND MORALITY OF CROWDS.

1.2.1.

§ 1. IMPULSIVENESS, MOBILITY, AND IRRITABILITY OF CROWDS.

1.2.2.

§ 2. THE SUGGESTIBILITY AND CREDULITY OF CROWDS.

1.2.3.

§ 3. THE EXAGGERATION AND INGENUOUSNESS OF THE SENTIMENTS OF CROWDS.

1.2.4.

§ 4. THE INTOLERANCE, DICTATORIALNESS AND CONSERVATISM OF CROWDS.

1.2.5.

§ 5. THE MORALITY OF CROWDS.

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1.3.

CHAPTER III. THE IDEAS, REASONING POWER, AND IMAGINATION OF CROWDS.

1.3.1.

§ 1. THE IDEAS OF CROWDS.

1.3.2.

§ 2. THE REASONING POWER OF CROWDS.

1.3.3.

§ 3. THE IMAGINATION OF CROWDS.

1.4.

CHAPTER IV. A RELIGIOUS SHAPE ASSUMED BY ALL THE CONVICTIONS OF CROWDS.

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2.

BOOK II. THE OPINIONS AND BELIEFS OF CROWDS.

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2.1.

CHAPTER I. REMOTE FACTORS OF THE OPINIONS AND BELIEFS OF CROWDS.

2.1.1.

2.1.2.

§ 2. TRADITIONS.

2.1.3.

2.1.4.

§ 4. POLITICAL AND SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS.

2.1.5.

§ 5. INSTRUCTION AND EDUCATION.

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2.2.

CHAPTER II. THE IMMEDIATE FACTORS OF THE OPINIONS OF CROWDS.

2.2.1.

§ 1. IMAGES, WORDS, AND FORMULAS.

2.2.2.

§ 2. ILLUSIONS.

2.2.3.

§ 3. EXPERIENCE.

2.2.4.

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2.3.

CHAPTER III. THE LEADERS OF CROWDS AND THEIR MEANS OF PERSUASION.

2.3.1.

§ 1. THE LEADERS OF CROWDS.

2.3.2.

§ 2. THE MEANS OF ACTION OF THE LEADERS: AFFIRMATION, REPETITION, CONTAGION.

2.3.3.

§ 3. PRESTIGE.

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2.4.

CHAPTER IV. LIMITATIONS OF THE VARIABILITY OF THE BELIEFS AND OPINIONS OF CROWDS.

2.4.1.

§ 1. FIXED BELIEFS.

2.4.2.

§ 2. THE CHANGEABLE OPINIONS OF CROWDS.

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3.

BOOK III. THE CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION OF THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF CROWDS.

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3.1.

CHAPTER I. THE CLASSIFICATION OF CROWDS.

3.1.1.

§ 1. HETEROGENEOUS CROWDS.

3.1.2.

§ 2. HOMOGENEOUS CROWDS.

3.2.

CHAPTER II. CROWDS TERMED CRIMINAL CROWDS.

3.3.

CHAPTER III. CRIMINAL JURIES.

3.4.

CHAPTER IV. ELECTORAL CROWDS.

3.5.

CHAPTER V. PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLIES.

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§ 2. HOMOGENEOUS CROWDS.

Homogeneous crowds include: 1. Sects; 2. Castes; 3. Classes.

The sect represents the first step in the process of organisation of homogeneous crowds. A sect includes individuals differing greatly as to their education, their professions, and the class of society to which they belong, and with their common beliefs as the connecting link. Examples in point are religious and political sects.

The caste represents the highest degree of organisation of which the crowd is susceptible. While the sect includes individuals of very different professions, degrees of education and social surrounding, who are only linked together by the beliefs they hold in common, the caste is composed of individuals of the same profession, and in consequence similarly educated and of much the same social status. Examples in point are the military and priestly castes.

The class is formed of individuals of diverse origin, linked together not by a community of beliefs, as are the members of a sect, or by common professional occupations, as are the members of a caste, but by certain interests and certain habits of life and education almost identical. The middle class and the agricultural class are examples.

Being only concerned in this work with

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heterogeneous crowds, and reserving the study of homogeneous crowds (sects, castes, and classes) for another volume, I shall not insist here on the characteristics of crowds of this latter kind. I shall conclude this study of heterogeneous crowds by the examination of a few typical and distinct categories of crowds.