James Madison Quotes

Has it been found that bodies of men act with more rectitude or greater disinterestedness than individuals? The contrary of this has been inferred by all accurate observers of the conduct of mankind; and the inference is founded upon obvious reasons. Regard to reputation has a less active influence, when the infamy of a bad action is to be divided among a number than when it is to fall singly upon one.

Great bodies of people are never responsible for what they do.

When we find ourselves in groups or with charismatic individuals, we might do things we wouldn't ordinarily do.

Observe any meetings of people, and you will always find their eagerness and impetuosity rise or fall in proportion to their numbers.

One never dives into the water to save a drowning man more eagerly than when there are others present who dare not take the risk.

No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.

Rights are not a matter of numbers - and there can be no such thing, in law or in morality, as actions forbidden to an individual, but permitted to a mob.

Respect for character is always diminished in proportion to the number among whom the blame or praise is to be divided.

When people are free to do as we please, they usually imitate each other.

When in doubt, look at what everyone else is doing.

A crowd is always impressed by the sum of its own number.

... there is a particular propensity in the world for people, wherever they appear in great numbers, to permit themselves collectively everything that would be forbidden them individually.

He whose honor depends on the opinion of the mob must day by day strive with the greatest anxiety, act and scheme in order to retain his reputation. For the mob is varied and inconsistent, and therefore if a reputation is not carefully preserved it dies quickly.

Conformity is inevitable when folks huddle together in rebellion.

The individual is not a killer, but the group is, and by identifying with it the individual is transformed into a killer.

Most of the time they buy what other people buy. They move in great schools, like bluefish, all identical. There is safety in numbers. If one wants Schnabel, they all want Schnabel, if one buys a Keith Haring, two hundred Keith Harings will be sold.

We laugh at sheep because sheep just follow the one in front. We humans have out-sheeped the sheep, because at least the sheep need a sheep dog to keep them in line. Humans keep each other in line. And they do it by ridiculing or condemning anyone who commits the crime, and that’s what it’s become, of being different.

Men are sheep. Where one goes, the rest will soon follow. -Lady Whistledown

We are discreet sheep; we wait to see how the drove is going, and then go with the drove.

Conformity is the ape of harmony.

Isolation from power makes men look for a mob in which they can be strong.

Scaling down individually is very hard. Imagine that if you go to a place where everybody is dressed nicely, and you are the only one who doesn't dress nicely. Everybody goes on vacations to a great place and you go to the Jersey shore. It's very hard to do these things without an organized mechanism, but it looks to me like there might be some organized mechanisms.

Anyone taken as an individual is tolerably sensible and reasonable - as a member of a crowd, he at once becomes a blockhead.

Men go crazy in congregation. They only get better one by one.

I also think that there's a little peer pressure. They probably think that a majority of people their age think the same things and they want to be considered - I don't know what the word is - in, hip, whatever, with that bunch. I think time will take care of some of this as it is revealed that [Donald] Trump is not what they think.