Crowd Psychology and the Theory of Democratic Elitism
The Contribution of William McDougall
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6336181 |
|---|---|
| Authors | John Allett (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1996 |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 213 |
| Publication date | 1996-06-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Political Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0162-895X • E-ISSN: 1467-9221 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/3791808 |
| OpenAlex | W2320657824 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 9 |
The social psychology of William McDougall (1871-1938) was once widely influential but now is little referenced, his own writings being eclipsed especially by Freud's few pages of commentary in Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego (1922). Indeed, in some respects his work is best forgotten. This applies particularly to his advocacy of Nordic superiority, but also probably extends to certain less incendiary issues like his Lamarckism and his several attempts to provide an exhaustive listing of human instincts, which now seems little more than an inventive ad hocary. At least one aspect of his work, however, the importance of which was never fully appreciated, deserves to be recalled. McDougall is entitled to be considered afounding theorist of the modem doctrine of democratic elitism. In this distinct regard, McDougall's work cannot be dismissed as antiquated. Rather, it contributes to what is still the dominant view of contemporary democracy
Democracy · Democratic Theory · Economics · Elitism · Epistemology · Political psychology · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology · Weber, Simmel, Sociological Theory
| Citations per year | 0.2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2021 - 2021 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |