BLOG #4

Crowds and Their Leaders
"To know the art of impressing the imagination of crowds is to know the art of governing them." - Le Bon


All good leaders know how to captivate his or her audience. They have the power to motivate and influence a crowd to achieve great things. This power could be abused to produce great evil or it could be used to accomplish great good. Hitler was a great leader who abused this power. Before Hitler had any real power he started mesmerizing the small crowd he preached to. At that time Hitler was poor and was jealous of the many successful Jewish businessmen living in Germany. He started preaching his message to a small crowd and slowly he gained support. After he gained power over Germany he started spreading his message of hate through propaganda and through mass gatherings. Le Bon also stated that crowds are stupid. This was true in the case of Nazi Germany. Hitler brainwashed his audience so well, that even though immoral acts were committed no one questioned his decisions. Although leaders can influence crowds negatively they also have the power to influence a crowd positively. For example a priest or minister can influence his congregation to accomplish many good deeds. Other world icons such as Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa have made significant positive differences in the world.

Clip from Gandhi