Gustave Le Bon

Gustave Le Bon ( born May 7, 1841 in Nogent -le- Rotrou, † December 15, 1931 in Paris) is considered the founder of mass psychology. Its effect on posterity, scientifically Sigmund Freud and Max Weber, politically and in particular National Socialism and its protagonists, was great. His thoughts are partly strongly time-bound and heavily influenced by personal experience. They will be discussed today by the social psychology.

Life and work

Le Bon experienced in 1848, the crisis time of the February Revolution and the Commune of 1871, both events had on his work appears to be a central effect. After studying medicine, he became in 1870 a military physician and operating from 1881 on various trips, among others, to North Africa and India ethnographic studies, during which he published several relevant works of 1881-1891, in which he dealt with anthropology, archeology and anthropology and research on matter and energy was doing, where he developed specially recording equipment. This was followed by 1894-1903 further studies of peoples, groups and masses, including his main work " psychology of the masses " (1895 ), which made him the most influential sociologists of his time. At the age Le Bon began to get to grips with the cataloging of mankind, by setting up hierarchies of races (which he somewhat unclear not strictly biologically understood, but as culturally inherited complexes, see below), gender, intelligence, and political currents.

Main work: psychology of the masses

Concept

In his preface, Le Bon is committed to the central role of the unconscious in the action of man, for man is the still relatively new in reason of its effect far superior. He regrets that we still know so little about this unconscious.

The work focused on both the themes of conformity, alienation and leadership apart, and with the mass in the true sense. Le Bon believes that individuals, even the members of a high culture in the mass loses its ability to criticize and affectively, sometimes primitive, barbaric acts. In the mass situation the individual is credulous and is subject to mental contagion. Thus, the mass of leaders is easy to steer. These characteristics are the general and later taken up by Freud doctrines Le Bons basis that human actions are controlled by unconscious impulses that are irrational, and that ideas shape the institutions and not vice versa.

Le Bon shows in particular how political opinions, ideologies and beliefs of the masses input and dissemination find out how you can influence the masses, as the necessary leaders arise, what characteristics they must have, how they work and go and where the limits this suggestibility are. He repeatedly emphasizes the small influence of reason, teaching and education, as well as the vulnerability of the masses for tags, large gestures and clever deceptions.

At the end of his work Le Bon subjects still several specific masses a very skeptical examination: both jurors as masses of voters and parliaments find it before his eyes no mercy. Rather, it creates a kind of pessimistic culture morphology, already rudimentary memories of their cyclical nature of Oswald Spengler. Then history is the result of racial ( in its cultural sociological sense ) or national characteristics and is not driven by rational, but emotional forces, but also intellectual elites play an important role.

Central mass-psychological theories

• Types of mass: A. Disparate masses ( foules heterogeneous ) 1 nameless masses ( for example, street collections )
• 2 Not unnamed (eg jury, Parliament)

• A mass is basically impulsive, mobile, irritable, suggestible, gullible, obsessed with exaggerated and brilliant ideas, intolerant and dictatorial.
• Mass transport mainly ideas and cultural goals, but these are realized only by the few who can think of the mass distance.
• The individual can only in the mass ascend to heights or sink down into depths ( mostly the latter ).
• Origin of mass is the mass of soul which arises in turn from a racial soul than the common, inherited cultural substrate.
• Anglo-Saxon masses respond differently than Romanesque, often show even contradictory modes of reaction.
• Modern materials are mainly characterized by a boundless egoism that brings decay and spiritually barren mob rule with him.
• The emerging age of mass is therefore to be regarded negatively, as here now overwhelming masses are no longer bound by ideals, traditions and institutions.

• The members of a mass forfeit the criticism that they have as individuals. Your personality vanishes.
• The mass can not be distinguished from factual personal.
• She succumbs easily suggestion, the effect of hypnosis is similar, and is hysterical; it is easy to steer.
• Therefore, it is also susceptible to legends that deal with mostly heroic leaders and events.
• The opinion in the mass carried by spiritual contagion.

• The mass is only slightly intelligent.
• She thinks one side coarse and undifferentiated for good or evil.
• The mass does not think logically, but in images, which are often caused by simple voice symbolism.
• The mass is easily excitable, gullible and erratic. Your emotionalism is simple.

• The mass is very conservative in general.
• The mass can not be convinced by logical arguments, but only emotionally.
• The mass is sometimes altruistic, where appropriate, virtuous or heroic, then often in the exuberance.
• The mass is intolerant and domineering.
• It can be very cruel, far beyond the individuals Possible addition, and, with suitable leadership willing to revolutions.
• The core beliefs of the mass change only very slowly.
• The moral judgments of a mass are independent of the origin or the intellect of its members.
• The mass judging by hasty generalization from individual cases.
• Your beliefs quickly take on religious overtones and often based on wishful thinking.

• Guide and ideas are rapidly charismatic properties ( Nimbus or " prestige" ).
• Without a guide, the mass is like a flock without a shepherd.
• Leaders are not thinkers, but men of action, occasionally one finds among them nervous, irritable and half crazy.
• Leaders often act by a great eloquence. Great leaders can awaken a belief and thus control whole nations.
• Leaders rule is usually violent.
• There are two types of leaders: effective short-term and long-term. That depends on the stamina of their will.
• Leaders act primarily through three methods: assertion, repetition, and contagion and transmission, whose best-known effect is the imitation.
• If a leader does not work, he quickly loses his touch and goes under.

All this justified Le Bon with numerous historical case studies, especially from the time of antiquity, the French Revolution and Napoleon and the French history of the 19th century.

Effect story

The work was widely circulated and was translated into 10 languages. It was in the first third of the 20th century as a standard work of mass psychology and influenced shown to Max Weber, in Chap. 1 of Economy and Society expressly refers to Le Bon. From Adolf Hitler is anticipated to be at least indirect knowledge because he had become an article of psychiatrist Dr. Rossbach about the book in the "Münchener Beobachter" attention a few days before his entry into the DAP in September 1919. There are striking similarities between the formulations and Hitler omissions on the psychology of mass, so that an at least indirect knowledge of the book for Hitler to assume.

A significant effect exerted Le Bons work on Sigmund Freud, who so intensely grappled in his 1921/22, published essay Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego and tiefenspychologische took the view that where he did not share especially the assessments Le Bons nature of a leader. The psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich and socialist mentioned Le Bon did not in his during the student movement of the 60s currently has again become the main work, The Mass Psychology of Fascism ( 1946). Hannah Arendt mentions him in The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951 ) in a footnote praise. Alexander Mitscherlich and Margarete Mitscherlich refer repeatedly in their writings to him, especially as regards the role of a leader, to mourn in The inability (1967). The modern literature on National Socialism, however, almost never quotes him. Other influences can be found at about the economist Joseph Schumpeter. In the analysis of the phenomenon of " alienation " brings the sociologist Raymond Aron in progress without end? (1970 ) Le Bon's harsh judgment regarding the psychology of the masses against Jean Paul Sartre's benevolent attitude in position.

The hypotheses of Le Bon's approach have loud Psychology Brockhaus a modern scientific testing, not all withstood (but also a methodological problem in the practical study of mass ), but the problem has been largely taken over by the modern social psychology and modified content, especially what as for the position of a leader and the different individual investments that may differ very much stronger than Le Bon took the.

The concept of race at Le Bon

Breeds are characterized for Le Bon by psychological and anatomical peculiarities. There are also other characteristics which are caused by the environment. According to Le Bon differ " the superior races of the lower races " in that the former produce a certain number of very developed brains, while the people were at the lower races the same. The higher climb a race on the ladder of culture, the more its members would strive to differentiate themselves from each other. The people went to meet not of equality, but an increasing inequality. Any kind of war was actually always been a race war. The " formation of a race" after Le Bon means the possession of a " common soul ". This will only " centuries of crossings and a uniform existence in the same environment" possible. The acquisition of a common soul means for a people at the same time the " highest peak of his size," their resolution, however, decline that will most surely caused by the " intervention of foreign elements ". Breeds develop over a long period of time, but can very quickly perish. Among the civilized nations are the least natural breeds type, but there are artificial, created under historical conditions races. Ability to respond flexibly to a new environment, only the new races is possible. Ancient races went rather below than that they made adjustments to a new environment.

The negroes, as Le Bon were condemned by the " inferiority of their brain " to remain for ever in their barbarity. In history there is no example, that " where a Negro people a certain cultural level " would have. Had fallen by chance higher culture in the hands of the negro race, so she was always soon returned to lower forms.

List of Works ( Title in German translation )

• People and companies, 1881
• The culture of the Arabs, 1884 German by Peter Aschner: The medieval world of the Arabs, FA Herbig, Munich / Berlin 1974.

• Psychology of the masses, German by Rudolf Eisler ( digitized version of the 2nd edition, Leipzig 1912), Kröner, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-520-71101-4

• (Eng. ) Steyrermühl - Verlag, Wien 1930