The Crowd, A Study of the Popular Mind

In this book, Gustave Le Bon examines the psychology of crowds, arguing that when individuals form a crowd, they undergo a profound psychological transformation.

He explains that crowds are characterized by impulsiveness, irritability, and an incapacity to reason, and that individuals within a crowd relinquish their personal identities and become susceptible to suggestion and emotional contagion.

Le Bon discusses how crowds can display either heroic or criminal tendencies based on prevailing ideas and emotions, and emphasizes the role of leaders in simplifying and communicating ideas to the crowd.

The book is divided into sections that analyze the general characteristics of crowds, their sentiments and morality, their ideas and reasoning power, and the classification and description of different kinds of crowds.