The Myth of the Multitude, or, Who's Afraid of the Crowd?

Essays; Fear; Crowds; Collective behavior; Social theory; Sociology; Eighteenth century; Social history; Nineteenth century

The article presents an essay that explains the causes on fear of crowds. It provides an analysis of the antithetical opposition between crowds and multitudes in current social theory in order to explain the cause of fear of crowds. The analysis reveals the negative connection between crowd theory and multitude theory in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries which contributes to the development of fear.