Dan Hancox, author of "Multitudes, How Crowds Made the Modern World," dives into how crowds shape society from Notting Hill carnival-goers to raves. He discusses the dual nature of crowds, both as chaotic forces and powerful collectives. Lisa Mueller, a political scientist, shares insights from her research on protest dynamics, revealing that cohesiveness in crowds leads to greater success. Analyzing British protests, she emphasizes the importance of unified goals in achieving meaningful change.
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insights INSIGHT
Defining Crowds
Crowds, with no upper size limit, are defined by shared characteristics in physical or psychological spaces.
The Riot Act sets a lower limit of 12 people for a riot charge, differentiating physical from psychological crowds.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Lockdown and Crowds
Lockdown highlighted the importance of crowds, revealing a longing for shared experiences with strangers.
Dan Hancox found himself drawn to videos of football fans and anthems, missing everyday crowd interactions.
insights INSIGHT
Crowds as Drivers of History
Crowds became history's primary driver in the last 150 years due to mass urban migration and rising social movements.
This period saw increased demands for democracy, socialism, women's rights, and trade unionism, often expressed through large public gatherings.
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In 'Multitudes', Dan Hancox delves into the history and psychology of crowds, challenging traditional negative views of crowd behavior. He explores various types of crowds, including those in revolutionary movements, sports events, carnivals, and protests, highlighting how crowds can free individuals from restrictive social norms and create new connections. Hancox argues that crowds are a vital force in modern history and a powerful way of connecting to shared humanity, despite often being demonized by those in power[1][2][4].
The Crowd, A Study of the Popular Mind
Gustave Le Bon
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[1][4][5].
Laurie Taylor talks to the writer, Dan Hancox, about the part that crowds play in our lives and how they made the modern world.
From Notting Hill carnival-goers and football matches to M25 raves and violent riots, what do we know about the madness of the multitude? Also, Lisa Mueller, Associate Professor of Political Science at Macalaster College, Minnesota, asks why protests succeed or fail. Examining data from 97 protests, she finds that more cohesive crowds are key. Drilling down into two British protests, Occupy London and Take Back Parliament, protesters who united around a common goal won more concessions than ones with multiple aims.
Thinking Allowed 
