Elias Canetti (1905-1994) was a Jewish German-language writer born in Ruse, Bulgaria. His family moved to England, where his father died in 1912. His mother took their three sons back to Europe and settled in Vienna. In 1981, her son Elias was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for “writings marked by a broad outlook, a wealth of ideas, and artistic power.”
Canetti wrote in his book The Memoirs of Elias Canetti, “I realized that there is such a thing as a crowd instinct, which is always in conflict with the personality instinct, and that the struggle between the two of them can explain the course of human history.” This idea became central to his life. It is the focus of his book Crowds and Power. He defined “crowd instinct” as an instinctive desire to be part of a crowd, to even dissolve one’s personality into a large mass of people. It often happens in mass rallies where impassioned orators fire up their audience and at rock concerts where young and old fans lose themselves in their wild admiration of the singers and their music.
The opposite of crowd instinct is “personality instinct.” We occasionally agree with crowds, but want to retain our ideas and values. We know from our knowledge of history that crowds have often become dangerous. Demagogues passed on false information, controlled the population, and drove them to do terrible things, even many murders.
In Crowds and Power, Canetti revolutionizes our analyses of politics and history. He shows many examples of the pathology of crowds in various countries and religions. He even informs us such mundane things as a ruler’s digestion can affect his power. He emphasizes that it takes people with strong personal instincts, people with a clear understanding of their ideas and values, who can overcome the phenomenal power of the crowd instinct. This could help us explain the rise of antisemitism around the world today and the sizable percentage of Americans who overlook the bestialities committed by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and protested for Hamas and violently destroyed much property during their protests.
He describes many kinds of crowds. Each is different. Each has its distinct behaviors and motivations. He reveals much sociology and psychology about each of them. There are open crowds, closed crowds, crowds as rings, invisible crowds, baiting crowds, flight crowds, prohibition crowds, reversal crowds, feast crowds, double men and women crowds, double living and dead crowds, war crowds, and crowd crystals.
There are also many smaller groupings, each, as the crowds, with distinct behaviors and motives. He calls the smaller groups packs. There are hunting packs, war packs, lamenting packs, increase packs, communion packs, and inward and tranquil packs.
He discusses much about crowds and pacts. These include their history, their appearance in legends, how they transform, and how they appear in Islam. Christianity, and Judaism.
This is offered to us in easy-to-read language, with many examples and details in the first 200 pages of this thought-provoking masterpiece. He follows the discussion of crowds and packs until page 495 with a brilliant discussion of power, its elements, its aspects, its survivors, details about commands, and transformation. As with crowds and packs, he fills his pages with fascinating details and examples from many cultures and history.
Among much else, he tells us that humans not only learned much by observing how animals act, but they also learned many valuable things by looking at their bodies. For example, “the feel of the hand of authority on his shoulder is usually enough to make a man give himself up without having to be actually seized. He cowers and goes quietly.” He leaned much by thinking about his teeth. “The way they are arranged in rows and their shining smoothness are quite different from anything else in the body.” It taught humans about order, architecture, protection, dangers, smooth surfaces., and more. The nail on the index finger taught him about knives, spears, and more. The thumb led to thinking about grasping and the bow for arrows. The movement of the fingers led to how to weave and other arts. Even thinking about how he ate led people to invent new objects and goals.
Just as Sigmund Freud revolutionized psychology with need-to-know information written in very readable and entertaining language, Elias Canetti has done the same by revealing the truths about crowds and power.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Follow the author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now
Great on Kindle
Great Experience. Great Value.
Putting our best book forward
Each Great on Kindle book offers a great reading experience, at a better value than print to keep your wallet happy.
Explore your book, then jump right back to where you left off with Page Flip.
View high quality images that let you zoom in to take a closer look.
Enjoy features only possible in digital – start reading right away, carry your library with you, adjust the font, create shareable notes and highlights, and more.
Discover additional details about the events, people, and places in your book, with Wikipedia integration.
Get the free Kindle app: 
Enjoy a great reading experience when you buy the Kindle edition of this book. Learn more about Great on Kindle, available in select categories.
Frequently bought together
This item: Crowds and Power
$14.38
Get it as soon as Tuesday, Jul 22
In Stock
+
+
$11.49
Get it as soon as Tuesday, Jul 22
In Stock
Total price: $00
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
Similar items that ship from close to you
Page 1 of 1 Start over
About the author
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2024
- Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2024
- Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2006
Top reviews from other countries
- LivresBooksReviewed in Germany on June 9, 2022
Bad reprint
Awful printing job makes this a hard read. This looks like a facesmile edition of another old edition. The text on the other side shows through.LivresBooksBad reprint
Reviewed in Germany on June 9, 2022
I suggest you find a better edition.
I know it’s a great book!
Images in this review
