A savage tribe resembles a herd of gregarious beasts; where the leader goes they go too; they copy blindly his habits, and thus soon become that which he already is.
Walter Bagehot: “A savage tribe resembles a herd of gregarious beasts; where the leader goes they go too; they copy blindly his habits…”
Editor's note · Context
This quote illustrates Bagehot's view on the behavior of primitive societies, emphasizing the influence of leadership on group dynamics.
Share
More from Walter Bagehot
But it is natural also that persons used to analyse political institutions should look at these anomalies with a little tenderness and a little interest.
I cannot, therefore, join in the full cry against anomalies; in my judgment it may quickly overrun the scent, and so miss what we should be glad to find.
The lessons are good where its primitive assumptions hold, but may be false where those assumptions fail.
Our law very often reminds one of those outskirts of cities where you cannot for a long time tell how the streets come to wind about in so capricious and serpent-like a manner.





