The Daily Worker Newspaper, May 8, 1926, Page 10

By D. KVITKO, FIFTH ARTICLE. New Idols for Old. HE fame of Le Bon, as the expert of mass psychology and that of rev- olution, has spread far beyond the French border line. So much inspired was General Mangin by the psycholog- ical wisdom of his teacher, that even on the battlefigld the grateful disciple did not forget the great services of his teacher, and sent him as a token of gratitude his photo with the acknowl- edgement of influence. The great psychologist moved both by this sou- venir and by patniotic feeling, in his turn dedicated to the general the prod- uct of his toll “The World Unbalanc- ed.” the deplorable conditions of Europe seething with revolt. Russia is, of course, the “bete noir” of the world while Mussolini looms as the savior and benefactor of civilization. Long before the world lost its bal- ance, the French psychologist visual- ized ft. In the introduction to his book “The Crowd” Le Bon says: “Certainly, it is possible that the advent to power of the masses marks one of the last stages of west- ern civilization, a complete return to those periods of confused anarchy which seem always destined to pre- cede the birth of every new society. But may this result be prevented? Up to now these thoroughgoing de- structions of a worn out civilization have constituted the most obvious task of the masses. . . Civilizations as yet have only been created and directed by a small intellectual aris- tocracy, never by crowds. Crowds are only powerful for destruction. Their rule is always tantamount to a barbarian phase.” History has time and again denied these statements. The democratic rule in times of Pericles (in ancient Greece) is recorded as the highest water mark of ancient civilization. On the contrary, under the tyranny of the Roman Caesars Rome became de- fenerate. Aristocratic France before the Great Revolution was devoured by the feudalistic cancer. The “Declara- tion of Independence, obsolete as it is now, has been the best document in American History. From the few ex- amples it may be inferred that in the future with conscious rule of the mass- es, that is, with the abolition of class- es, real civilization will only begin. Dr. Le Bon supports his theory by a very ingenious supposition of the existence of a “collective soul,” differ- entiating between the “soul” of a crowd and that of a nation. That is, according to his theory the nation pos- sesses a “collective soul” consisting of “soul cells” which have been form- ed during the advance of civilization. Hence the “tradition” of a nation is not merely the sum total of habits, customs, etc., but it is something liv- ing, just as the individual organism is. And as patriotism is the expression of the best tradition, hence patriot- ism is not merely a result of tempo- rary feeling, but it is a constant ele- ment, and a vital ingredient of social life of the highest degree. Hence, heroism and devotion aroused in times of “national” stress are expressions of the “national soul,” not in a meta- phorical but in a literal sense. For it is worth while noting that Le Bon recognizes not only the existence of an “individual” soul, in each man but over and above it—a “collective” soul. And just as an individual soul become sometimes demented or de- generated, so does the group soul; that is, a nation is not merely an ag- gregate of people living in the same territory, speaking the same language, having the same beliefs, holding to same customs, but the individual is bound to the nation by a soul string. Class warfare and uphgavals of the masses, then, are abnormal contor- tions of a “deceased” soul, barbaric reminiscences of past ages. How handy a theory comes in! Even such a conservative psychologist as Prof. McDougal, who believes in the exist- ence of the soul, ridicules the notion of a collective soul and the conse- quences which ensue upon the theory. Yet this mystical and nonsensical hy- pothesis that the national soul speaks thru the few chosen ones is laid as the foundation of Le Bon’s theory of In this book the author laments | NS A, . DEMOCRATIC PARTY Psychology of Revolution The DAILY WORKER cartoonist, Maurice Becker, shows here one of the remarkable American institutions: The only two existing mass political parties are practically merged into one. represented by its own polttical party. Not even the petty bourgeoisie is As for the working class—the labor party is coming, and it will break the workers away from the Two-Headed Monster of capitalist politics. Ultimately the mass Communist Party, however, will be the victorious leader of the American working class. mass action. He does not speak about the economic or political interests of the class in revolt that cause the change, about the reasons of class formation, about the motives that split the nation into’ revolutionary and counter-revolutionary camps, but in- stead he speaks of the mystical exist- ence of a soul, or the “genius” of a nation, though neither science nor ex- yerience were ever able to detect even a sign of them. Of course, the notion of a collective consciousness or soul ire fictions no more intelligible than livine interference in buman affairs. But a reference to god is a vulgar way of explaining things, and no scientist as scientist would resort to such meth- od. But is the idea of a collective consciousness which settled itself in the few chosen aristocrats, more in- telligible? Yet this chatter passes as mass psychology. From the foundation of this “theory” we shall pass to its struc- ture. During the revolutionary up- heaval, or class struggle, according to Le Bon, the crowd descends the lad- der of civilization, and its state re calls that of an individual in a hypno- tic trance. The rebellious mass is just as credulous and suggestive as the subject during the trance. When the leader orders to burn, plunder, and murder the mass submissively carries out the order. The thought of the leader infects the crowd, for the crowd itself cannot think it is only capable of imitation and obedience. Netther the characteristic nor the explanation are true, for a hypnotized subject has no will of his own, and he acts contrary to his own interests, while the revolutionary mass when smelling betrayal turns its back on the leader, am unthinkable action on the part of a hypnotized individual. On its own accord it recognizes the leader and follows his Orders which are by no means commands. Between rival leaders if there happen to be such, the crowd chooses one or the other, or it splits its forces. A hyp- notized person does not understand, nor has he the will, to choose or dis- obey. But according to Le Bon: “A crowd is not merely-impulsive and mobile. Like a savage, it is not prepared to admit that anything can come between its desire and the re- alization of its desire, It Is less capable of understanding such an In- tervention, in consequence of the feeling of irresistible power given it by Its numerical strength. The no- tion of impossibility disappears for the individual in a crowd, Making part of a crowd, he is conscious of the power given him by number, and it is sufficient to suggest to him ideas of murder or pillage for him to yield immediately to temptation.” We have seen that other bourgeois psychologists speak of crowds as if they were alike at all times and under all circumstances. Yet there are various crowds, just as there are vari ous individuals, There are blind -in- dividuals composing a blind crowd, there are conscious individuals com- posing a conscious mass where in- ferior members are raised to a higher level. The psychologists like to point out to the psychology of number which keeps the mass spell-bound. Not only is it natural but it is highly rational to take account of the number of par- ticipants, for the outcome of the vic- tory may sometimes depend upon the size, And does not action depend up- on the larger, most resourceful force? The crowd thet has confidence, devo- tion and superior forces must win. But do crowds always count and measure? How does it happen, then, that the smaller assemblies rely on elements other than number—upon the dmponderable hidden resources of devotion and enthusiasm? Would the mass always possess the feeling of invincibility, we could never witness retreat in the battle, The psychology of the masses then must be regarded, not as a uniform behavior alike under all times and circumstances, There must be a dif- ferent criterion by which to measure the psychology of people, for it de pends upon the environment for a mass behavior to take place, Some times its victory is determined b: strategic position the mass leader choses to take, fate Hes in the endurance of the peo ple, sometimes it depends the leadership, sometimes it is determined by numbers, Hence the notion of number does not necessarily play the “ without saying that am active throng, tho knowing its size, may meet scat tered or even organized crowds several times its size, yet hoping to combat them, because of its high spiritidness; and the spiritless crowd is stampeded by the militant one. The psychology © of numbers, a8 we see, plays an un equal role, and it is a relative element in mass action, From the discussion it is evident era i ee ee ee ee > eS