Collective aspects of mental state, memory and psychic capital: Their role in the coherent functioning of a community

Abstract

Drawing upon the work of classical and modern writers, notably Le Bon, Freud, Jung, Halbwachs, Boulding and Antonovsky, it is possible to propose the following conceptual integration. The life of a community occurs at a psychological level, which is reflected in its mental state whose influence would affect all members of a community to a greater or lesser extent. This collective mental state will be influenced by memories, which can also be collective insofar as they are produced by common experiences. The store of good memories has been called psychic capital, but there will also be bad memories or negative psychic capital. As a community functions, it can be aided in its survival by a sense of coherence. Psychic capital provides a reserve of psychic strength, which can be drawn upon in the task of maintaining a sense of coherence and therefore survival. The contributions of the classical and modern theorists to these collective aspects are thus acknowledged.