| By | Brian Wagner (DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is: The Authoritarians (Paperback)
It's really unfortunate that this book never made the mainstream. It may be partly because it's available free [...]
Altemeyer's 'The Authoritarians' is a compilation of years of research he's done on a personality type he identified and labeled "Right Wing Authoritarian (RWA)." This label does not imply that all authoritarians are right wing. There can be left wing authoritarians but we simply don't see them in the US and Canada where his research was mostly done.
Though the webpage has some political diatribe it is mostly absent from the book which explores the various beliefs of RWAs. RWAs include very few in their 'in' group and villify their 'out' group.
They have many hypocrisy's which they don't notice due to their highly compartmentalized thinking. They respect might over reason and are willing to do terrible things under the direction of a proper authority, especially if the person on the receiving end is some sort of outsider.
Their fear of the world and change fuels their aggression. Worst of all, they control a large portion of our government.
While RWAs can be considered dangerous fools, Social Dominators (also discussed in the book) could arguably be considered evil. They view people as tools to be used for their own benefit, are uninterested in helping others unless they will receive more in return and delight in using RWAs for their own purposes.
While the RWA personality corresponds very highly with fundamentalist religion, it is distinct.
Anyone who's read Sam Harris' 'Letter to a Christian Nation' or 'The End of Faith' should give this a read. After reading this I believe that while religion may focus people to maladaptive ends, this book really gets at the root of the problem.
The feedback I’ve gotten from those who have read The Authoritarians enables me to give you the major reason why you might want to do so too. “It ties things together for me,” people have said, “You can see how so many things all fit together.” “It explains the things about conservatives that didn’t make any sense to me,” others have commented.
And the one that always brings a smile to my face, “Now at last I understand my brother-in-law” (or grandmother, uncle, woman in my car pool, Congressman, etc.).
Maybe it’ll work that way for you too.
Bob Altemeyer May, 2010
James Dean, the Nixon era aide, also pointed out that that old fashioned Goldwater conservatism has morphed into simple authoritarianism The social dominators that Altemeyer refers to are the party oligarchs who fund the party with large contributions. There are also politicians like Sarah Palin and the media like Fox News who are the GOPs talking dogs. They put on the 'dog and pony shows' for the GOP.
The Tea Baggers are the file who are fueled by authoritarian ideas and emotion. They are the 'true believers. Our thanks to Harry Hope for this story idea.
The Tea Baggers are the file who are fueled by authoritarian ideas and emotion. They are the 'true believers. Our thanks to Harry Hope for this story idea.
Netcraft rank: 11952
http://toolbar.netcraft.com/site_report?url=http://rightardia.blogspot.com
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