Path to collective madness : a study in social order and political pathology / Dipak K. Gupta.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gupta, Dipak K.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Group identity.

Identity (Psychology).

Collective behavior.

Social conflict.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (295 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Distribution:

London : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2024

Place of Publication:

Westport, Conn. : Praeger, 2001.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Why did the Rwandan genocide take place? How could parents feed their own children drinks laced with poison in Jonestown? As we see many parts of the world being engulfed in fratricidal frenzy, we wonder if it can happen in this country. Gupta examines contemporary cases of genocide and mass murder and seeks to explain why certain societies are more prone to these actions and others are relatively immune. Gupta sees a dialectical tension between our two identities: the self and the collective. The end of the medieval period was marked by the emergence of individualism in Europe. With time, the march of individualism engulfed the entire Western world and permeated every aspect of its culture, tradition, and academic paradigm. Neoclassical economics is the embodiment of this single-minded pursuit of the rationality of individualism. However, our psychobiological evolution has also imbued us with the irrepressible desire to form groups and to act upon its welfare. The reason for this eternal conflict lies in our own struggle with our two identities. When the pendulum swings to the extreme end of collectivism, genocide and other forms of social abnormalities--collective madness--occur. When we move too far into individualism, people tend to seek something greater beyond selfish pursuits. Through his panoramic view, Gupta provides an explanation for both social order and political pathology that will be of interest to students, scholars, and other researchers involved with ethnic conflict, collective behavior, and conflict resolution.

Contents:

Cover

PATH TO COLLECTIVE MADNESS

CONTENTS

PREFACE

THE AUDIENCE

PLAN OF THE BOOK

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

PART I SETTING THE STAGE

CHAPTER 1 "THE CHILDREN DID NOT CRY": THE FACE OF COLLECTIVE MADNESS

THE AFFLICTION: A FEW SNAPSHOTS

THE THIN LINE OF SANITY

COLLECTIVE MADNESS AND ORGANIZED ANARCHY

ME, US, THEM, AND YOU

NOTES

CHAPTER 2 AT THE GREAT DIVIDE OF IDENTITY: INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE

THE GREAT DIVIDE

IN THE WOMB OF THE COLLECTIVE

INDIVIDUAL: THE DELIVERANCE

ROMANCING THE COLLECTIVE

SINGULAR WORLDVIEW: THE CONFUSION

… IN WOMEN, SAVAGES, AND CHILDREN

THE WAR OF THE WORLDS: INDIVIDUAL VS. COLLECTIVE

CHAPTER 3 THE CONFUSIONS OF A SINGULAR WORLDVIEW

THE PUZZLE

SOCIAL DILEMMA: OLSON'S PARADOX

DISREGARDING THE DILEMMA

THE PARTIAL SOLUTIONS

REALITY AT RISK: A THEORIST'S CONUNDRUM

FINDING FAULT WITH HOMO ECONOMICUS

SOLACE IN SELF-INTEREST

THE ONE-DIMENSIONAL ACTOR: THE WOES OF AN INCOMPLETE BEING

PART II PATH TO COLLECTIVE MADNESS

CHAPTER 4 HOMO COLLECTIVUS: THE SOCIAL MAN

RECONSTRUCTING THE FUNDAMENTALS

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE: THE NEED TO BELONG AND TO HATE

IN THE LOVE OF HATE: COMMUNITY AND THE SHARED ENEMY

TWO FACES OF COLLECTIVE IDENTITY

COLLECTIVE: THE CONTEXTUAL IDENTITY

ACCOUNTING FOR THE SOCIAL MAN: A THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE

IDEOLOGY AND SELF-INTEREST: WHY MEN REBEL AND WHY THEY DON'T

MANUFACTURING COLLECTIVE IDENTITY

CAN COLLECTIVE IDENTITY BE MEASURED?

COLLECTIVE IDENTITY IN CONTEXT

CHAPTER 5 THE SLIPPERY SLOPE: FROM IDENTITY TO MADNESS

THE MAKING OF AN ENEMY

Fitting the Image

The Political Entrepreneurs

THE PARTICIPANTS

The True Believers

The Mercenaries: The Seekers of Fun and Profit

Captive Participants

THE NONPARTICIPANTS

The Conscientious Objectors

The Easy Riders.

The Collaborators

FROM IDENTIFICATION TO IMPLEMENTATION: THE PROCESS

Mobilization

The Media: Constructing Political Reality

Cultural Icons

Ease of Participation and Costs of Defection

STRATEGIES OF PARTICIPATION

THE DESCENT OF SOCIETY: PATH TO COLLECTIVE INSANITY

Greed (selfish interest)

Ideology (collective motivation)

Cost factor

Facilitating factors

Shrinking Opportunity

Increasing Rewards of Membership

Collective Culture

Ideology of Paranoia

The Rise of a Charismatic Leader

Social Pressure for Acceptance

High Price for Defection

Social Acceptance of Violence

Creation of Militia/Flow of Arms

Creation of Organizational Hierarchy

Stopped Flow of Information

International Intervention

CASCADING TOWARD MADNESS

CHAPTER 6 MADNESS OR NOT: THE ENDS OFTHE SPECTRUM

FOR REASONS OF INSANITY

RWANDA: THE CHRONICLE OF MADNESS

Early Rwanda: Restructuring Ethnicity

The Fruits of Folly: Independence of Rwanda

The Best of Times and the Worst of Times: Setting the Stage

The Arusha Agreement: The Last Flicker of Light

Message of Extreme Hate: The Media

The Bush Clearing: The Face of Madness

Von Götzen's Curse: Why Rwanda?

JONESTOWN: THE TEMPLE OF DOOM

The Massacre

Politics American Style: Paranoia

Why Jonestown?

THE AFRICAN AMERICANS: WHERE IS THE REVOLUTION?

The Summer of Discontent

The Shape of the Paradox

Solving the Paradox: The Case for the Weakening of Collective Identity

The "Us" Factors

The "Them" Factors

Government Coercion: The Rising Cost Factor

Where Is the Revolution?

THE LESSONS OF HISTORY

PART III IN SEARCH OF POLICY

CHAPTER 7 WHERE THERE'S A WILL … : CAN ANYTHING BE DONE?

A MATTER OF WILL?

STRUCTURAL CHANGE: PROCEDURAL JUSTICE

Power-Sharing.

Peace Through Coercion: Benevolent Dictatorship

Can Democracy Save the World?

STRATEGIC MOVES: SHORT-TERM SOLUTIONS

Early Warning

FROM EARLY WARNING TO EARLY ACTION

Preventive Diplomacy

Why Conflicts Continue

WHERE THERE'S A WILL …

CHAPTER 8 COLLECTIVE MADNESS: LOOKING INTOTHE FUTURE

COLLECTIVE MADNESS

COLLECTIVE IDENTITY AND SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH

DESTINY INSANITY?

REIGN OF THE INDIVIDUAL: THE JUGGERNAUT

In a World Without Enemies: Giddy Globalization

The Incoherent Society

DISTANT THUNDER: THE RISE OF COLLECTIVISM

THE GOLDILOCKS SOLUTION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

About the Author.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9798400695537

9780313074431

0313074437

9780313001253

0313001251

OCLC:

614618064