Instincts of the Herd in Peace and WarTrotter, W. (Wilfred)
Science
Instincts of the Herd in Peace and War
Trotter, W. (Wilfred)
Collective behavior; Crowds; Social psychology; World War, 1914-1918 -- Psychological aspects
Examples of behaviour illustrating these deep differences of reaction
are often to be met with in the {187} stories of those who have
described incidents of the war. It is recorded that German soldiers
in trenches within hearing of the English, seeking to exasperate and
appal the latter, have sung in an English version their fondly valued
“Hymn of Hate.” Whereupon the English, eagerly listening and learning
the words of the dreadful challenge, have petrified their enemies by
repeating it with equal energy and gusto, dwelling no doubt with the
appreciation of experts upon the curses of their native land.
It would scarcely be possible to imagine a more significant
demonstration of the psychological differences of the two social types.
The peculiarities of a state of the wolfish type are admirably suited
to conditions of aggression and conquest, and readily yield for those
purposes a maximal output of moral strength. As long as such a nation
is active and victorious in war, its moral resources cannot fail,
and it will be capable of an indefinite amount of self-sacrifice,
courage, and energy. Take away from it, however, the opportunities
of continued aggression, interrupt the succession of victories by a
few heavy defeats, and it must inevitably lose the perfection of its
working as an engine of moral power. The ultimate and singular source
of _inexhaustible_ moral power in a gregarious unit is the perfection
of communion amongst its individual members. As we have seen, this
source is undeveloped in units of the aggressive type, and has been
deliberately ignored by Germany. As soon, if ever, as she has to submit
to a few unmistakable defeats in the field, as soon as, if it should
happen, all outlets for fresh aggression are closed, she will become
aware of how far she has staked her moral resources on continuous
success, and will not be able for long to conceal her knowledge from
the world. {188}
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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