Crowds and Power
1960 book by Elias Canetti
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Crowds and Power (German: Masse und Macht) is a 1960 book by Elias Canetti, dealing with the dynamics of crowds and "packs" and the question of how and why crowds obey power of rulers. Canetti draws a parallel between ruling and paranoia. The book analyzes the memoirs of Daniel Paul Schreber and Sigmund Freud's book on them, and Gustave Le Bon.
First Edition | |
| Author | Elias Canetti |
|---|---|
| Original title | Masse und Macht |
| Translator | Carol Stewart |
| Language | German |
| Publication date | 1960 |
| Publication place | Germany |
The book was translated from German into English by Carol Stewart in 1962 and published by Gollancz.
Overview
Although wide-ranging in its erudition, this essay is not scholarly or academic in a conventional way. Canetti uses "we" in his text and does not dissociate from humanity.
On asking questions: "On the questioner the effect is a feeling of enhanced power. He enjoys this and consequentially asks more and more questions; every answer he receives is an act of submission. Personal freedom consists largely in having a defence against questions. The most blatant tyranny is the one which asks the most blatant questions."[1]
This work remains important for the insights it provided into the Eastern European upheaval which can be understood within the framework Canetti puts forth.[2] It shows the growth of crowds and their power against even the power of the state.