From controversial law cases such as that of the footballer Ched
Evans through to intense bursts of outrage at offensive jokes or
unpopular opinions, the Twitterstorm seems to have replaced the mob in
twenty-first-century imagination. While some defend the use of such
tactics as a (mostly) harmless letting off of steam, others have become
increasingly uncomfortable about what such tactics mean for the state of
public debate more widely. In his much-discussed book, So You’ve Been Publically Shamed,
journalist Jon Ronson explored the real-world effects of s...
From controversial law cases such as that of the footballer Ched
Evans through to intense bursts of outrage at offensive jokes or
unpopular opinions, the Twitterstorm seems to have replaced the mob in
twenty-first-century imagination. While some defend the use of such
tactics as a (mostly) harmless letting off of steam, others have become
increasingly uncomfortable about what such tactics mean for the state of
public debate more widely. In his much-discussed book, So You’ve Been Publically Shamed,
journalist Jon Ronson explored the real-world effects of such
vituperative mob justice, from unfairly destroying reputations to
ruining lives: last year, an investigation into ‘trolls’ targeting the
parents of Madeleine McCann ended in the suicide of one of the accused.
From psychologist Gustave le Bon’s 1895 work, The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind, to Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible,
and even behavioural economics, there has been no shortage of
intellectual inquiry into the nature of mobs, yet little consensus about
what defines them. Protestors accused of mob violence in riots across
US cities counter that it is heavy-handed police responses that turned
organised demonstrations into anarchy. Meanwhile, claims that vigilante
mobs mistakenly attacked paediatricians during the child-abuse panic at
the start of the millennium have been found to have said as much about
prejudices about the mob as the mob itself. If fear of the mob is
nothing new, however, is there anything different about its spectral
online version?
Why does the concept of mob rule seem to haunt public debate at a
time when the masses play such a minor role in mainstream politics? Has
the mob found a new home in the online world, with its seeming hostility
to traditional forms of hierarchy and authority? Does the fear of mob
rule reveal an elitist contempt for mass politics, or an anxiety that
contemporary institutions lack the strength to articulate popular
frustration?
Josie Appleton
director, civil liberties group, Manifesto Club
John Coventry
global communications director, Change.org
Rupert Myers
barrister and writer
Daniel O'Reilly
comedian, aka Dapper Laughs
Cathy Young
contributing editor,
Reason magazine; author,
Ceasefire! Why women and men must join forces to achieve true equality
David Bowden
associate director, Institute of Ideas
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