Article #448-1 | Gutenberg Articles

Excerpt

Excerpt from The Psychology of Revolution, by Gustave Le Bon

Absolute monarchy, the
Acceleration of forces of violence
Administrations, real ruling forces
Affective logic
Affirmation, power of
Alexander I of Russia
Alsace loss of
Ambition, as a motive of revolution
Anarchy, followed by dictatorship; mental
Ancestral soul
Ancien regime, bases of the; inconveniences of; life under;
dissolution of
Ancients, Council of
Anti-clerical laws
Armies, of the Republic; character of; victories of; causes of
success
Army, role of, in revolution; in 1789
Assemblies, the Revolutionary; psychology of; obedient to the
clubs; see National, Constituent, Legislative Assemblies,
Convention, &c.
Assignats
Augustine, St.
Aulaud, M.
Austria, revolution in; royalist illusions as to her attitude;
attacks the Republic

Balfour, Rt. Hon. A. J., on coal strike
Barras
Barrere
Bartholomew, St., Massacre of; European rejoicing over
Bastille, taking of the
Battifol, M.
Bayle, P.
Beaulieu, Edict of
Bedouin, executions at
Belgium, invasion of
Beliefs, affective and mystic origin of; intolerance of;
justification of; intolerance greatest between allied beliefs;
intolerance of democratic and socialistic beliefs
Berquin, executed by Sorbonne
Berry, Duchess de
Billaud-Varenne
Bismarck
Blanc, Louis
Blois, States of
Bonaparte, see Napoleon
Bonnal, General
Bossuet
Bourdeau, M.
Bourgeoisie, their jealousy of the nobles causes the Revolution;
their thirst for revenge; the real authors of the Revolution;
philosophic ideas of
Brazilian Revolution, the
Britanny, revolt in
Broglie, de
Brumaire, coup d'etat of
Brunswick, Duke of, his manifesto
Buddhism
Bureaucracy in France

Caesar, on division amid the Gauls
Caesarism
Caesars follow anarchy and dominate mobs
Cahiers, the
Calvin; compared to Robespierre
Carnot
Carrier; crimes of, and trial
Catechism of the Scottish Presbyterians
Catherine de Medicis
Catholic League
Cavaignac, General
Chalandon
Champ-de-Mars, affair of the
Charles IX
Charles X
China, revolution in
Chinese labour
Christian Revolution, the
Christians, mutual hatred of
Church, confiscation of goods of the
Civil War
Clemenceau, M.
Clergy; civil constitution of
Clubs, the, 24- psychology of the; obeyed by the Assemblies;
closed; increasing power of the; see Jacobins
Coalition, the
Cochin, A.
Colin, M.
Collective ideas; collective logic
Collot d'Herbois
Commissaries of the Convention, psychology of
Committees, the Governmental
Commune of Paris, the; in insurrection; chief power in State;
orders massacre of September; tyranny of
Commune of 1871
Communes, the revolutionary
Comte, A.
Concordat, the
Condorcet
Constituent Assembly, the; psychology of the; its fear of the
people; temporarily resists the people; loses power; its last
action
Constitution of 1791; of 1793; of 1795; of the year VIII
Constitutions, faith in
Constraints, social, necessity of
Consulate, the
Contagion, mental; causes of; in crowds
Contrat Social, the
Convention, giants of the; inconsistency of; decimates itself;
psychology of the; cowardice of; mental characteristics of;
composition of; fear in the; besieged by the Commune; surrenders
Girondists; Government of the; abolishes royalty; dissolved
Council of State
Couthon
Criminal mentality
Cromwell
Crowd, Psychology of the
Crowds in the French Revolution
Cruppi, M.
Cuba
Cunisset-Carnot
Currency, paper

Explanation

Gustave Le Bon’s The Psychology of Revolution (1913) is a sociological and psychological analysis of revolutionary movements, particularly the French Revolution (1789–1799), though it also draws parallels with other upheavals (e.g., the Russian Revolution of 1905, the Chinese Revolution of 1911). The excerpt you’ve provided is not a continuous passage but rather an index or thematic outline of the book’s key topics, organized alphabetically. While it lacks narrative cohesion, it reveals Le Bon’s analytical framework, central themes, and methodological approach to understanding revolutions. Below is a detailed breakdown of the excerpt’s significance, focusing on the implicit arguments, themes, and literary/rhetorical strategies it suggests.

1. Context and Purpose of the Work

Le Bon (1841–1931) was a French social psychologist best known for The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind (1895), which explored mass behavior. The Psychology of Revolution extends his theories to political upheavals, arguing that revolutions are not rational or ideologically pure but driven by:

Collective psychology (crowd mentality, contagion, irrationality).
Ancestral instincts (deep-seated emotions like vengeance, fear, or religious fervor).
The collapse of social constraints (leading to anarchy, followed by dictatorship).

The book was written in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1905 and amid rising socialist movements in Europe, reflecting Le Bon’s conservative skepticism toward democratic and revolutionary ideals. His work was influential among elite circles fearful of mass unrest (e.g., politicians, military leaders).

2. Themes in the Excerpt (Implicit Arguments)

The alphabetized list functions as a conceptual map of Le Bon’s thesis. Key themes emerge:

A. The Irrationality of Revolutions

Crowd Psychology: Entries like "Crowd, Psychology of the," "Mental Contagion," and "Collective Ideas" suggest Le Bon’s focus on how revolutions spread through emotional infection rather than reasoned debate. For him, crowds are suggestible, impulsive, and prone to extremism (e.g., the September Massacres or the Reign of Terror).
Affective Logic: The term "Affective logic" (logic driven by emotion) implies that revolutionary beliefs (e.g., "Anti-clerical laws," "Intolerance of democratic beliefs") are mystical and dogmatic, not rational. This aligns with his view that ideologies like Jacobinism or socialism are secular religions.
Anarchy → Dictatorship: The progression "Anarchy, followed by dictatorship" reflects his cyclical theory of revolutions: initial chaos (e.g., the Convention’s infighting) leads to a strongman (e.g., Napoleon, Cromwell) who restores order through force.

B. The Role of Violence and Power Struggles

Violence as Accelerant: "Acceleration of forces of violence," "Massacre of St. Bartholomew," "Executions at Bedouin" highlight how revolutions escalate through brutality. Le Bon sees violence as inevitable once traditional authority collapses.
Power Vacuums: Entries like "Army, role of, in revolution," "Commune of Paris," and "Governmental Committees" show how institutions (armies, communes, clubs) compete for control in the absence of a monarchy. The "Jacobins" and "Clubs" (e.g., the Cordeliers) exemplify how radical factions dominate through intimidation.
Revenge Motives: "Bourgeoisie, their jealousy of the nobles causes the Revolution; their thirst for revenge" frames the Revolution as a class vendetta, not a noble struggle for liberty. Le Bon often portrays the bourgeoisie as hypocritical—using Enlightenment ideals to justify their grab for power.

C. The Illusion of Constitutionalism

Failed Constitutions: The repeated entries ("Constitution of 1791; of 1793; of 1795") underscore Le Bon’s skepticism toward legalistic solutions. He argues that constitutions are powerless against mob psychology (e.g., the Convention’s inability to enforce the 1793 Constitution).
*Faith in Constitutions: The entry "Constitutions, faith in" is ironic—Le Bon mocks the revolutionary belief that writing laws can tame chaos. His view aligns with later critics like Carl Schmitt, who saw constitutions as fragile during crises.

D. The Psychological Profile of Revolutionaries

Criminal Mentality: "Criminal mentality" and "Intolerance of beliefs" suggest Le Bon’s pathologizing of revolutionaries. He often compares them to fanatics (e.g., Robespierre as a modern Calvin) or criminals (e.g., Carrier’s atrocities in the Vendée).
Cowardice and Fear: The "cowardice of the Convention" and "fear in the Convention" reveal his focus on how terror is a tool of control. The Girondins’ execution, for instance, was driven by the Mountain’s fear of losing power.
Decimation of Elites: "Convention decimates itself" refers to the self-destructive purges (e.g., Danton’s execution) that Le Bon sees as inherent to revolutions—factions turn on each other in paranoia.

E. Historical Parallels and Universal Laws

Comparative Revolutions: Entries like "Chinese Revolution," "Brazilian Revolution," "Austria, revolution in" show Le Bon’s attempt to generalize his theory beyond France. He argues that all revolutions follow similar psychological patterns (e.g., initial idealism → violence → dictatorship).
Ancestral Soul: "Ancestral soul" suggests that revolutions tap into primordial instincts (e.g., tribalism, religious zeal). This aligns with his racialist views (common in early 20th-century sociology) that societies regress under stress.
Caesarism: "Caesars follow anarchy" echoes his belief that charismatic strongmen (Napoleon, Cromwell) emerge to "save" societies from chaos—a pessimistic view of democracy’s viability.

3. Literary and Rhetorical Devices

While the excerpt is not a continuous text, the structure and phrasing reveal Le Bon’s rhetorical strategies:

A. Fragmentation as Argument

The alphabetical list mirrors the chaos of revolution—disjointed, overwhelming, and lacking a clear narrative. This reinforces his theme that revolutions are uncontrollable forces, not linear progress.
The repetition of terms (e.g., "psychology of the Convention," "psychology of the clubs") hammers home his psychological determinism—revolutions are about mass mentality, not individual agency.

B. Juxtaposition for Contrast

Pairings like "Anarchy, followed by dictatorship" or "Bourgeoisie... thirst for revenge" create dialectical tension, emphasizing revolutions’ self-defeating nature.
The inclusion of both high and low culture (e.g., "St. Augustine" alongside "Assignats" [inflationary currency]) suggests revolutions corrupt all spheres—religious, economic, and intellectual.

C. Authoritative Tone

The lack of questioning in the entries (e.g., "Intolerance of democratic beliefs" is stated as fact) reflects Le Bon’s pseudo-scientific certainty. He presents his theories as laws of human nature, not hypotheses.
The use of proper nouns (Robespierre, Bismarck, Catherine de Medici) lends historical gravitas, positioning his work as a definitive study.

D. Irony and Subtext

Entries like "Faith in Constitutions" or "Philosophic ideas of the bourgeoisie" are subtly sarcastic. Le Bon implies that these ideals are naive covers for power grabs.
The inclusion of "Christian Revolution" alongside "Mutual hatred of Christians" hints at his view that all revolutionary movements (even religious ones) devolve into sectarian violence.

4. Significance and Criticisms

A. Influence

Le Bon’s work shaped 20th-century authoritarian thought. Figures like Mussolini and Goebbels cited his crowd psychology to justify propaganda and control.
His elite fear of the masses influenced conservative historians (e.g., Hippolyte Taine) and later Cold War-era anti-communism.

B. Criticisms

Determinism: Le Bon ignores structural causes (e.g., economic inequality, Enlightenment ideas) in favor of psychological reductionism.
Elitism: His portrayal of crowds as infantile and dangerous reflects a class bias—he sides with aristocrats and bourgeoisie against the lower classes.
Ahistorical Generalizations: His universal laws of revolution overlook cultural differences (e.g., the Chinese Revolution had distinct dynamics from the French).

C. Literary Legacy

The fragmented style prefigures modernist techniques (e.g., Ezra Pound’s Cantos or Walter Benjamin’s Arcades Project), where juxtaposition replaces narrative.
His psychological focus anticipates Freudian and post-structuralist readings of history (e.g., Michel Foucault’s Discipline and Punish).

5. Focus on the Text Itself: What the Excerpt Reveals

Even as a list, the excerpt embodies Le Bon’s central claims:

Revolutions are psychological, not ideological. The dominance of terms like "affective logic," "mental contagion," and "crowd psychology" shows his fixation on emotion over reason.
Institutions are powerless against mobs. The repetition of "psychology of the [Assembly/Convention/Clubs]" suggests that no government can control a revolution—it can only be crushed or co-opted (e.g., by a Napoleon).
Violence is inevitable. The litany of massacres ("September Massacres," "Executions at Bedouin," "Crimes of Carrier") frames revolution as a bloodbath, not a liberation.
History repeats itself. The inclusion of multiple revolutions (French, Chinese, Brazilian) implies a timeless pattern: idealism → chaos → dictatorship.

The absence of heroic language (no "liberty," "equality," or "fraternity") is striking. For Le Bon, revolutions are pathological outbreaks, not noble struggles. The dry, clinical list mirrors his view of history as a laboratory—where human behavior is dissected, not celebrated.

Conclusion

This excerpt, though not a traditional narrative, is a microcosm of Le Bon’s worldview. It reveals his fear of the masses, his distrust of democracy, and his belief in psychological laws governing history. The alphabetical structure enacts the chaos he describes, while the recurring themes (violence, crowd psychology, failed institutions) reinforce his pessimistic thesis: revolutions are irrational, self-destructive, and doomed to repeat the same cycles of anarchy and tyranny.

For modern readers, the text serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of populism and ideological extremism, though its elitist and deterministic framework has been widely challenged. Its literary value lies in its fragmented, almost poetic presentation of history as a series of psychological forces, not a march of progress.

Questions

Question 1

The alphabetical structure of the excerpt most closely mirrors which of the following conceptual frameworks in Le Bon’s analysis of revolution?

A. The linear progression of historical causality, where each event logically follows from the prior one.
B. The hierarchical organization of revolutionary institutions, from the most to least powerful.
C. The Enlightenment ideal of rational classification, applied to the study of political upheaval.
D. The cyclical nature of revolutionary violence, as anarchy inevitably gives way to dictatorship.
E. The chaotic, non-linear mentality of crowds, where disparate ideas collide without coherent synthesis.

Question 2

Le Bon’s inclusion of entries like "Faith in Constitutions" and "Constitutions, faith in" (repeated across multiple years) primarily serves to:

A. highlight the legal sophistication of revolutionary governments despite their eventual failures.
B. underscore the futility of institutional reforms in the face of psychological and collective irrationality.
C. demonstrate the progressive refinement of constitutional thought from 1791 to the Year VIII.
D. contrast the idealism of constitutional drafts with the pragmatism of their enforcement.
E. illustrate the bourgeoisie’s genuine commitment to establishing a rule-of-law framework.

Question 3

The juxtaposition of "Bourgeoisie, their jealousy of the nobles causes the Revolution; their thirst for revenge" with "Philosophic ideas of the bourgeoisie" implies that Le Bon views Enlightenment thought as:

A. a sincere intellectual movement that inadvertently catalyzed social upheaval.
B. a post-hoc rationalization for deeper, primal motivations like envy and resentment.
C. the primary ideological driver of revolutionary change, despite its elite origins.
D. an irrelevant distraction from the economic grievances that truly fueled the Revolution.
E. a progressive force that was corrupted by the mob’s inability to comprehend its nuances.

Question 4

Which of the following best describes the rhetorical effect of listing "St. Bartholomew, Massacre of; European rejoicing over" alongside "September Massacres" and "Crimes of Carrier"?

A. It establishes a moral equivalence between religious and secular violence, absolving revolutions of unique culpability.
B. It suggests that revolutionary violence is a regrettable but necessary phase in the march toward progress.
C. It frames mass atrocities as aberrations, contrasting them with the Revolution’s broader humanitarian goals.
D. It implies that such events are exceptional outliers, deviating from the Revolution’s rational foundations.
E. It normalizes violence as a recurring, almost ritualistic feature of revolutionary upheavals across history.

Question 5

The repetition of terms like "psychology of the" (e.g., "psychology of the Assemblies," "psychology of the Convention," "psychology of the clubs") functions primarily to:

A. emphasize the scientific rigor of Le Bon’s sociological methodology.
B. distinguish between the unique mentalities of different revolutionary factions.
C. suggest that individual agencies are irrelevant in the face of collective historical forces.
D. reinforce the idea that revolutions are driven by mass psychology rather than ideological or material conditions.
E. highlight the adaptability of human cognition in response to rapidly changing political circumstances.

Solutions and Explanations

1) Correct answer: E

Why E is most correct: The alphabetical list’s disjointedness—where "Absolute monarchy" abuts "Acceleration of forces of violence" without narrative or causal links—mirrors Le Bon’s argument that crowds operate through associative, non-linear thinking. The structure enacts the chaotic collision of ideas he attributes to revolutionary mentalities, where logic is subordinate to emotion and contagion. This aligns with his broader thesis in The Crowd (1895) that masses lack rational synthesis, instead latching onto fragmented, affective impulses.