Crowds and Power

Posted on May 20, 2006
Tags: General rant |

I’ve been spending a quiet Sunday at home enjoying a bottle of wine, pasta and a nice book I picked up in Singapore in February but only just got to reading. It’s called Crowds and Power by Elias Canetti, a Literature Noble prize winner for 1981. It’s an excellent analysis of social behaviour and groups. Initially I started reading it trying to keep an eye out for the impact of crowds on financial markets (not the topic of the book) but I was soon lost in the brilliance of the author’s analysis and his ability to crystalize concepts which seem obvious but yet aren’t. Here’s one interesting quote on the institutionalization of crowds.

A man attending a sermon honestly believed that it was the sermon which mattered to him, and he would have felt astonished or even indignant had it been explained to him that the large number of listeners present gave him more satisfaction than the sermon itself.

Highly recommended.

Comments

2 Responses to “Crowds and Power”

  1. richard on May 21st, 2006 1:54 am

    It does sound interesting. In the end, did you notice any obvious market-relevant ideas?

  2. eyal on May 23rd, 2006 7:07 pm

    I’ll let you know when I reach the end :) It’s quite voluminous..

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