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Crowds and Pathos

Theodor Geiger on Revolutionary Action

University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Theodor Geiger is one of the sociological discipline's unappreciated classics. This article focuses on a particular and often neglected part of his work, the study of revolutionary crowds. The article has two main objectives. First, it presents and discusses Geiger's subtle and thoroughly sociological account of crowds and their revolutionary character. This includes an outlook to his theory of differentiation and to his critique of communitarian pathos in modern society. Second, the article demonstrates that Geiger's theory has much to offer contemporary debates on revolution. This is shown more specifically by contrasting Geiger's theory with Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri's recent work. According to Hardt and Negri, the present imperial world order may be radically transformed by a new revolutionary subject, the multitude. The article contends that in many respects Geiger's theory provides a more complex picture of the possibility of revolution.

Key Words: community • differentiation • Empire • multitude • society • sociology of crowds

Acta Sociologica, Vol. 49, No. 1, 5-18 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0001699306061896


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