Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 11.djvu/71

 A PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORY OF REVOLUTIONS 55

habits of the population. The anarchy is, of course, proportion- ate to the violence and completeness with which the old habits and institutions are overthrown. Again, in such periods of confusion in the individual consequent upon the entire break- down of a habit, we observe a tendency to atavism or reversion in his activities; that is, the simpler and more animal activities tend to come to expression. This tendency not only manifests itself in revolutions, but is of course greatly intensified by the struggle between the classes ; for fighting, as one of the simplest and most primitive activities of man greatly stimulates all the lower centers of action. Hence the reversionary character of many revolutionary periods. They appear to us, and truly are, epochs in which the brute and the savage in man reassert them- selves and dominate many phases of the social life. The methods of acting, of attaining ends, in revolutions are, indeed, often characteristic of much lower stages of culture. These methods, as a rule, are unreflective, extremely direct and crude. Thus resort to brute force is constant, and when attempts are made at psychical control, it is usually through appeal to the lower emo- tions, especially fear. Hence the terrorism which is sometimes a feature of revolutions, and which conspicuously marked the French Revolution.

Here another striking phenomenon of revolutionary epochs must be noted ; and that is the part played at such times by mobs and other crowds. Le Bon has worked over this matter so thoroughly that only a word on this phase of our subject is neces- sary. It is evident that in the confusion and excitement of revo- lutionary times the most favorable conditions exist for the formation of crowds and the doing of their work. There is an absence, on the one hand, of those controlling habits, ideas, and sentiments which secure order in a population ; and, on the other hand, there is the reversion to the unreflective type of mental activities. Under such conditions crowds are easily formed, and a suggestion suffices to incite them to the most extreme deeds. Thus much of the bloodiest work of revolutions is done by crowds. But it is a mistake to think that true revolutions can be initiated by mobs, or carried through by a series of them.