ABSTRACT
Freud examines what creates and what dissolves the cohesion of a group, or the fascination that a leader exerts. He shows that only an emotional bond – love – is capable of overcoming both individual narcissisms and the hate that separates the members of a group. This inner tension can be exacerbated in pathological cases and even explain the alternations between melancholia and mania. In this synthesis of his hypotheses, Freud clarifies the notion of the "ego" and introduces for the first time those of the "id" and the "superego". The normal function of the superego consists in protecting the ego from being swamped when the pressure from the id is excessive, just as parents must show firmness when a child puts him/herself in danger, for instance by getting too near to a fire or a precipice.
