Path To Collective Madness

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.

Examines people's collective behavior and those factors that result in genocidal behavior.

Booknews

Terming outbreaks of ethnic hatred and violence from Bosnia, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, and elsewhere outbreaks of "collective madness," in which the individual subsumes his identity within the group and acts with the group often against his own individual interest, Gupta (peace and urban studies, San Diego State U.) offers an explanation of the causes of such outbreaks. He identifies six groups of participants and nonparticipants in collective actions: "true believers" and "conscientious objectors" motivated by ideology; "mercenaries" and "collaborators" motivated by personal self-interest; and "captive participants" and "easy riders" motivated by fear. After exploring the psychology of collective violence, he discusses case studies of Rwanda, Jonestown, and the relative lack of racial violence in the United States. Finally he offers suggestions for governments and NGOs to avoid outbreaks of "collective madness." Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

DIPAK K. GUPTA is the Fred J. Hansen Professor of Peace Studies, Professor in the School of Public Administration and Urban Studies, and the Co-Director, Institute for International Security and Conflict Resolution at San Diego State University. He has held numerous visiting fellowships, including at the UN Terrorism Prevention Branch, Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention. Professor Gupta has published extensively on issues of violence and ethnicity, including The Economics of Political Violence: The Effects of Political Instability on Economic Growth (Praeger, 1990).