A pack of teenage boys is a good representation of the potential cruelty of a mob. The weak are weeded out. Ostracized. Persecuted. Bullied. To prevent this phenomenon from occurring in physical education classes in high school, rules are instituted by the coaches. Fighting is prohibited or strictly regulated in refereed wrestling or boxing matches.
The strong still arrive at the top of the heap as varsity athletes or known tough guys but not at the expense of the weak. Their superior physical attributes are noted and nurtured through games. We call these games sports. As in ancient Greece, they mimic war. Football and basketball and baseball and various track related sports are intended as substitutes in which to direct the aggressive tendencies of young males.
We are utilizing some subjective part of our nature to counteract our natural character. We are laying out rules of behavior intended to inhibit the law of nature. Survival of the fittest. We have a unique quality among animals. We label suffering as evil. We don't let old and infirm humans die in the street because they're too weak to forage. Oh how noble we are. Noble savages. Not so.
We are savages willing to kill each other for a loaf of bread or a fling with our neighbors daughter. Except for the conscience. Where did that come from? When you figure that out, you're on the track to wisdom.