Le Bon Quotes

“Critics of the U.S. Constitution say it is an instrument of class oppression – made by the rich to the disadvantage of the poor. They deny the reality of separate powers under the Constitution. For them, the inequalities of the market economy must be corrected by government intervention. A century ago Le Bon wrote of the difficulties involved in “reconciling Democratic equalization with natural inequalities.” As Le Bon pointed out, “Nature does not know such a thing as equality. She distributes unevenly genius, beauty, health, vigor, intelligence, and all the qualities which confer on their possessors a superiority over their fellows.” When a politician pretends to oppose the inequalities of nature, he proves to be a special kind of usurper – personifying arrogance in search of boundless power.

Logically, the establishment of universal equality would first require the establishment of a universal tyranny (a.k.a., the dictatorship of the proletariat). A formula for doing all this was worked out in the nineteenth century, and was the program of Karl Marx. Le Bon warned that socialism might indeed “establish equality for a time by rigorously eliminating all superior individuals.” He also foresaw the decline of any nation that followed this path (i.e., see the Soviet Union). Such a society would aim at eliminating all risk, speculation and initiative. These stimulants of human activity being suppressed, no progress would be possible. According to Le Bon, “Men would merely have established that equality in poverty desired by the jealousy and envy of a host of mediocre minds.”
― J.R.Nyquist

“Mulţimile, contrar indivizilor care le compun, nu au capacitatea unei judecăţi critice. Individul din cadrul unei mulţimi nu mai este el însuşi, ci un automat pe care propria sa voinţă nu-l mai poate dirija. În momentul în care face parte dintr-o mulţime, un individ, chiar dacă este o persoană foarte cultivată, îşi pierde capacitatea de a judeca critic şi se comportă în mod afectiv, având chiar manifestări primitive şi barbare. În consecinţă, judecăţile morale ale unei mase sunt independente de originea sau intelectul indivizilor care le compun.”
― Gustave Le Bon, The Psychology of Peoples (1898) [Leather Bound]