Psychological Weapons of War
By Cesar Chelala
0310/08 "ICH" - -- It is a mystery how the Iraq war was
planned and supported for a long time without an effective
opposition, despite being one of the worst foreign policy
decisions in recent U.S. history. But it becomes less of a
puzzle if one applies to the situation some principles of
social psychology. In this light, a return to the classic
literature is pertinent.
In 1895, Gustave Le Bon, a French social psychologist,
published a seminal book on the psychology of crowds, "La
psychologie des foules." He probably never imagined that it
would become a classic in its genre and a basic source for
Sigmund Freud when dealing with the same subject. Le Bonīs
ideas, which are pertinent even today, were later further
elaborated by other authors and put to use in other tragic
historical events, as happened in Germany with the Nazis.
Although Le Bon wrote mainly about the psychology of crowds,
his ideas can also be applied to populations. Even though
both are different entities, they share some common
characteristics. Crowds are transitory and tend to gather
because they are homogeneous in their ideas about a specific
subject or event. Populations are groups of people with
different ways of thinking, living in a place geographically
defined but who, like crowds, can be swayed by mass media or
by a leader acting through it.
In his analysis of Le Bonīs work, Sigmund Freud wrote, "A
crowd is trusting and easily influenced; it is non-critical.
The concept of improbability doesnīt exist…. Whoever wants
to influence it doesnīt need to present logical arguments.
It is only necessary to paint the most alluring images, to
exaggerate and to repeat the same concept several times."
According to Le Bon, opposite ideas can coexist and be
tolerated in a way that their logical contradictions do not
generate a conflict. This may explain why the actions
against Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan were essentially
abandoned when there was a serious chance of capturing him,
and how a war against Iraq was initiated without facing
serious opposition in the United States.
According to Le Bon, crowds are subject to the magical power
of words, which can provoke the most serious storms in the
soul of its members, or can also contribute to calming them
down. In this regard, what greater insult can be used
against a country than to call it part of an "axis of evil"?
As is now widely known, the Iraq war was conducted on false
premises, something that became increasingly evident with
time. However, as Le Bon pointed out, "Crowds are never
thirsty for truth. They demand illusions, to which they are
unable to renounce. Irreality prevails over reality,
irreality acting almost as strongly as reality. The visible
tendency of the crowd is not to make any difference between
them."
The George W. Bush administration used the concept of
eliminating a tyrant and bringing democracy to Iraq with
great effectiveness. The Iraqi tyrant, Saddam Hussein, was
eliminated. But Iraq is still in chaos, corruption is
rampant and the Iraqi government is clear in its decision to
see the United States withdraw its forces from the country
sooner than the Bush administration intends.
Both crowds and populations are subject to the influence of
their leadersī ideas. Through his actions and his words, a
true leader can bring peace to a country, and to the world.
When a leader is misguided, a terrible war can be his most
devastating legacy.
Cesar Chelala is a co-winner of an Overseas Press Club of
America award for an article on human rights. He is the
foreign correspondent for the Middle East Times
International (Australia).
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