Book to Read: ‘Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds’ by Charles Mackay
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“Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds”, first published in 1841, is a book written by Charles Mackay. It explores various instances throughout history where large groups of people have engaged in irrational behavior, often driven by popular beliefs, speculation, or the influence of others.
The book examines economic bubbles, such as the tulip mania in 17th century Netherlands, the South Sea Bubble in 18th century England, and the Mississippi Company bubble in 18th century France. It analyzes the psychological and sociological factors that contribute to these episodes of collective madness and highlights the dangers of herd mentality and uncritical thinking.
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Quotes From The Book ‘Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds’
The opium of the people is not religion but rather the belief that they can become rich without laboring for it.
In the madness of a crowd, the individual is stripped of reason and follows blindly the prevailing sentiment.
The power of the crowd lies in its ability to amplify both reason and madness, to raise individuals to the heights of genius or plunge them into the depths of folly.
The madness of crowds is fueled by a combination of ignorance, fear, and the desire for belonging.
During seasons of great pestilence men have often believed the prophecies of crazed fanatics, that the end of the world was come. Credulity is always greatest in times of calamity.
Crowds are governed by sentiment and not by reason, by the heart and not by the head.
When reason is abandoned, the crowd becomes a volatile force capable of great achievements or terrible destruction.
We find that whole communities suddenly fix their minds upon one object and go mad in its pursuit; that millions of people become simultaneously impressed with one delusion, and run after it, till their attention is caught by some new folly more captivating than the first.
Some men, by dint of excessive egotism, manage to persuade their contemporaries that they are very great men indeed: they publish their acquirements so loudly in people’s ears, and keep up their own praises so incessantly, that the world’s applause is actually taken by storm.
Once an idea takes hold of the popular imagination, it becomes almost impossible to eradicate, no matter how absurd or irrational it may be.
When we see the multitude of people of all classes and nations, greedy of wealth, power, and pleasure, rush eagerly after bubbles, that they may catch them before they burst, we cannot wonder at the uniform history of delusion.
It is in times of great excitement and upheaval that the human mind is most susceptible to the contagion of popular delusions.
The desire for wealth, fame, and success often blinds people to the irrationality of their actions, leading them into the grip of popular delusions.
Every age has its peculiar folly; some scheme, project, or phantasy into which it plunges, spurred on by the love of gain, the necessity of excitement, or the mere force of imitation.
Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one.
The madness of the crowd is not a new phenomenon; it has been occurring throughout history, and will likely continue to do so.
There is nothing so dangerous as the headstrong belief of a multitude.
History reveals the recurrent pattern of human folly, where individuals forsake their own judgment and surrender to the power of the crowd.
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