Elites and Panic: More to Fear than Fear Itself

2008/12/01 by Lee Clarke, Caron Chess · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Crime, Deviance, and Social Control #Risk Perception and Management #Disaster Management and Resilience

paper · doi:10.1353/sof.0.0155

openalex publication_date 2008/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22

Abstract

Attributions of panic are almost exclusively directed at members of the general public. Here, we inquire into the relationships between elites and panic. We review current research and theorizing about panic, including problems of identifying when it has occurred. We propose three relationships: elites fearing panic, elites causing panic and elites panicking. We use numerous examples, including our own research on the 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States, to illustrate how these relationships operate. The argument is evocative, not definitive. However, the conceptual utility of explicitly theorizing the relationships between elites and panic shows, among other things, how power works in disasters.

Citations

• The Razor Blade in the Apple: The Social Construction of Urban Legends

Discussions

• Fears about a highly contagious infectious disease and fears about “panic”— only one of these is backed by evidence. People don’t “panic” often, and underreaction is the greater threat here. Pediatric [bsky, 1 points, 0 comments]

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