Gustave Le Bon & The Psychology of Crowds

French polymath, Gustave Le Bon, a social psychologist born in 1841, stands out as the most influential thinker on crowd psychology. His book "The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind", would become foundational for 20th Century propaganda – from selling cigarettes to American women to mobilising masses to commit acts of genocide.

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Le Bon is best known for his pioneering work in the field of social psychology, and how an individuals' behavior changes when part of a collective group. He argued that when individuals join a crowd, they often lose their rationality and can become irrational and prone to suggestibility, often leading to destructive or impulsive behavior. His writings had a profound impact on the understanding of group psychology and collective behavior.