ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces sociological and psychological accounts of the crowd, and presents basic concepts which will be complemented in the analyses whenever fruitful. In contrast to rumour theory, which is a relatively coherent field, crowd theory has been an embattled ground because of its more obvious political ramifications. Collective behaviour differs sharply from individual behaviour: Having redefined the high-level component, people do not proceed to respecify, step by step, down the line to reconstitute social action. Hysteria and wish-fulfilment are necessary for the emergence of violent crowds as pictured in Shakespeare's history plays and tragedies. Wish-fulfilment is more complex than are hysterical beliefs, and hostile beliefs in turn are more complex than wish-fulfilment beliefs. Multitude by Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri describes a utopian scenario in which the mass's excessive and destructive energy has found the appropriate channels. According to Hardt and Negri, the mass has become a self-governing organism of autonomous and reasonable individuals.
