ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the conditions in Western society that favor mass politics. Mass politics occurs when large numbers of people engage in political activity outside of the procedures and rules instituted by a society to govern political action. Modern democratic systems possess a distinct vulnerability to mass politics because they invite the whole population, most of which has historically been politically quiescent, to engage in politics. The theory of mass society stresses the need for the autonomy of certain social units if order with freedom is to be secured. A prominent argument that attributes mass consequences to the ascendancy of large-scale organization focuses on the transformation of the public realm. The central problem posed by the theory of mass society is that of social alienation, or the distance between the individual and his society. Social alienation may occur on all levels of society.
