S. Moscovici: masses and politics

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The article examines S. Moscovici’s teaching about the masses in the context of psychoanalysis. Moscovici made an attempt to create a “science of the masses”, which quite adequately reflected the practice of the political regimes of the 20th century. From his point of view, liberal democracy only formally appears to be a rational, reasoned doctrine, where the category of “people” occupies a central place. In fact, state and political institutions are based on the emotional life of the masses, their unconscious. The state and state bodies, political parties, religious associations, trade unions and other social groups basically carry out their activities according to the laws of the crowd. An individual, being a member of the mass, loses the ability to think rationally, obeying the emotions of the crowd.