The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-05-08
Psychology of Revolution
BY D. KVITKo.
FIFTH ARTICLE.
New Idols for old.

was General Mangin by the psycholog-
icsl wisdom of his teacher, that even
on the battlefield the grateful disciple
did not forget the great services Of his
teacher, and sent him as a token of
gratitude his photo with the acknoWl-
edgement OF influence. The great
psychologist moved both by this SOU
venir and by patriotic feeling, in his
turn dedicated to the general the prod
uct of his toll 1.-THE World Unbalanc-
ed" In this book the author laments
the deplorable conditions Of Europe
seething with revolt. Russia is, of
course, the "bete noir" Of the world
while Mussolini looms as the savior
and benefactor Of civilization.
Long before the world lost its bal
ance, the French psychologist visual
lied It. In the introduction to his book
"The Crowd" LIE Bon says:
"certainly, It Is possible that the
advent to power Of the masses
marks one Of the last stages Of west
ern civilization, a complete return
to those periods Of confused anarchy
which seem always destined to pre-
cede the birth Of every new society.
But may this result be prevented
Up to now these thoroughgolng de-
structions Of a worn out civilization
have constituted the most obvious
task Of the masses. Civilizations
as yet have only been created and
directed by a small intellectual arls-
tocraey, never by crowds. Crowds
are only powerful for destruction.
Their rule Is always tantamount to
barbarian phase"
History has time and again denied
these statements. The democratic
rule in times of Pericles Tin ancient
Greece is recorded as the highest
water mark of ancient civilization. On
the contrary, under the tyranny of
the Roman Caesars Rome became de-
generate. Aristocratic France before
the Great Revolution was devoured by
the feudalistic cancer. The Declare
ton of Independence, obsolete as it Is
now, has been the best document in
American History. From the few ex-
amples it may be inferred that in the
future with conscious rule of the mass
es, that is, with the abolition of class
es, real civilization will only begin.
DR.. lie Bon supports his theory by
a very ingenious superstition of the
existence of collective SOUL" differ
entiating between the "souP' of
crowd and that of a nation. That is,
according to his theory the nation pos
sesses a collective soul" consisting
of "soul cells" which have been form
ed during the advance of civilization.
Hence the tradition" of a nation is
not merely the sum total of habits,
customs, ETC., burt 1t is something liv-
ing, just as the individual organism is
And as patriotism is the expression
of the best tradition, hence patriot
ism is not merely result of tempo
rary feeling, but 1t is a constant ele-
ment, and a vital ingredient Of social
life Of the highest degree. Hence,
heroism and devotion aroused in times
of national" stress are expressions
Of the national SOUL" not in meta
phorical but in literal sense. For it
is worth while noting that lie Bon
recognizes not only the existence of
an Individual" soul, in each man but
over and above ia collective"
soul. And just as an individual soul
become sometimes demented or de-
generated, so does the group soul;
that is, a nation is not merely an ag-
gregate OF people living in the same
territory, speaking the same language,
having the same beliefs, holding to
same customs. but the individual is
bound to the nation by a soul string.
Glass warfare and upheavals Of the
masses, then, are abnormal contor-
tions of deceased" soul, barbaric
"reminiscences of past ages. How
handy a theory comes in! Even such
a conservative psychologist as Prof.
McDougal, who believes in the exist
ence of the soul, ridicules the notion
of a collective soul and the conse-
nuaneaa which ansua uDOn the theory