He produced the test and scale for rwa or rightwing authoritarianism he did extensive research on authoritarianism, identifying the psychological makeup of authoritarian followers and authoritarian leaders. How democracies slide into authoritarianism the washington post. Authoritarianism is a form of government characterized by strong central power and limited political freedoms. Strategies, tools, and models, a book about anti authoritarians and for them. Dictators and dictatorships by natasha ezrow and erica frantz.
He identifies an emergent and deeply troubling form of rightwing radicalism, at once more moderate than classical fascism in its political strategy, yet indulgent of the racism of its most extreme components. His studies concentrated on who the followers are, how they got. Opinion the contract with authoritarianism the new. More accurately, he saw the kinds of men and women who would vote for a donald trumptype candidate for high office. The other authoritarian personality bob altemeyer pull up from your memories those haunting, spectacular scenes of the nuremberg rallies. Oct 05, 2015 the book the authoritarians was written by bob altemeyer, associate professor, department of psychology, university of manitoba, winnipeg, canada. Sometime last year i read a book by john dean called conservatives without conscience. Youll need the polices guns to take away other peoples guns. Authoritarian regimes may be either autocratic or oligarchic in nature, and may be based upon the rule of a party or the. At one end of the spectrum, societies facing the toll of the virus may collapse into authoritarianism.
Women, children, and others unable to defend themselves are typical targets. This book, the authoritarians is the resulting synopsis of his research that john dean relied on. In the novel, poland falls to a chinese leader named. It was a lastminute choice when a couple of other books i was considering didnt pan out, and a throw of the dice because i hadnt read it. As i try to show in the comment on the tea party movement link to the left, the research findings in this book apply at least as strongly to america today as they did four years ago. The authoritarian s playbook, groundtruth reporting fellows in india, brazil, colombia, hungary, poland, italy and the united states chronicled how seven nationalist leaders in each of these countries seem to be working from the same playbook. When confronted with a normative threat, authoritarians have a. Robert anthony bob altemeyer born 6 june 1940 is a retired professor of psychology at the university of manitoba.
For several years, ive been thinking about writing resisting illegitimate authority. David neiwert, a correspondent for the southern poverty law center whose most recent book is about the rise of the radical right in the age of trump, said trumps authoritarian impulses. That year, hetherington and weiler published a book about the effects of authoritarianism on american politics. A essential intervention that helps us understand the political shifts taking place on the right, and points a way for the left to halt an unfolding disaster dan trilling, bloody nasty people. But it will be a much weaker inclination than that found in persons who have extra helpings of this trait. Finally, this study like most of the others i shall bring up was done in canada. The new authoritarianism trump, populism, and the tyranny. With authoritarians though, the main thrust is personal empowerment and the feeding of the self. To these authoritarians, any reference to a chinese virus is a form of racism although the west nile virus, mers, and other diseases have been historically and rightly referred to by the country. This book certainly gets into the reality of the subject but i found it too analytical, sort of like reading a dissertation.
The sudden disaster that requires the end of the balance of power, the end of opposition parties, and so on, is the oldest trick in the hitlerian book. In the early 1950s, allport also published a book entitled the nature of prejudice in which along with other lasting contributions he provided a definition of the authoritarian personality. Technically, both view authoritarianism as a means to end, which is to bring about a certain state that will improveprotect society. Jul 16, 2018 in fact, psychologists have found that there are at two others kinds of authoritarians. The focus and action of the authoritarian changes from moment to moment. Im not doing any advertising in the new york times. In contrast, antiauthoritarians rejectfor themselves and for others an unquestioning obedience to authority, and they believe in challenging and resisting illegitimate authority.
Pitting this barebones measure of authoritarianism against any variety of conservatism, and the whole roster of sociodemographic variablesincluding education, income, gender, class, and religiosityi have shown that authoritarianism is the principal determinant of general intolerance of difference around the globe. Similarly when i asked students to write down, anonymously, their biggest faults, rightwing authoritarians wrote down fewer than others did, mainly because a lot of them said they had no big faults. Nicholas dismas is a private investigator, but like no other that has gone. Oct 03, 2019 there is an intimacy to reading, a place created in which we can imagine the experiences of others and experiment with new ideas, all within the safety and privacy of our imaginations. He did extensive research on authoritarianism, identifying the psychological makeup of authoritarian followers and authoritarian leaders. He has written extensively on authoritarianism and refined the theory into the concept and measure of right wing authoritarianism. They love the idea of someone giving orders and others obliged to take orders, they love the idea of strict. A printed, paperback copy of the authoritarians is available from. This authority forms the basis for the new authoritarianism of the books title.
An analysis of trump supporters has identified 5 key traits. But conservatism and progressivism are good things, too. Trump is the authoritarian ruler republicans and some dems. Do you notice how seldom authoritarians aggress against others in a fair fight. At first glance, he only deals with rightwing authoritarians, since the rwa scale he developed stands for rightwing authoritarianism, however, in his freely available 2006 remember, this is the bush years book the authoritarians, he makes this important and, honestly, quite confusing distinction. He produced the test and scale for rwa or rightwing authoritarianism. Why many doctors are authoritarians and harmful mad in. Canada ull up from your memories those haunting, i. Erica frantz of michigan state university sheds a bright light on the ways of contemporary authoritarians in a short book, entitled authoritarianism. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. Bob altemeyer studied the authoritarian personality for over 40 years while a professor of psychology at the university of manitoba, canada. These are people he described in earlier works as right wing authoritarians, and enemies of freedom. Trump meets every criteria for an authoritarian leader. Aug, 2015 trump is the authoritarian ruler republicans and some dems have been waiting for by august, 2015 august, 2015 written by john dean august, 2015 august, 2015.
Conservatives, on the other hand, justify authoritarianism on the basis of preservation of perceived moral values that underpin the structure of society. In contrast, anti authoritarians rejectfor themselves and for others an. The authoritarian personality is a 1950 sociology book by theodor w. Aug, 2019 an authoritarian leader is aggressive, lacks empathy, cares only about their own needs and also has a very low tolerance for frustration. The other authoritarian personality bob altemeyer university of manitoba, winnipeg. Authoritarians have a firm set of principles and beliefs. The authoritarian personality is a personality type characterized by extreme obedience and unquestioning respect for and submission to the authority of a person external to the self, which is realized through the oppression of subordinate people. The one weird trait that predicts whether youre a trump. Conceptually, the term authoritarian personality originated from the writings of erich fromm, and. The conclusions of this study, presented in a freely available book entitled the authoritarians, are that there are a certain set of.
Since then a new administration has been elected, and although it has had to deal with a very serious economic crisis brought on by others, it is taking steps to correct some. Liberalism is not some kind of problem or necessary evil. In her 2005 book, the authoritarian dynamic, karen stenner a former member of the political science departments at princeton and. The coronavirus meets authoritarianism in turkey the new. At one time, the study of autocratic leaders and authoritarian followers was one of the most researched topics in the social sciences meloen, 1993, but interest has fallen off, leaving some researchers to speculate as to the causes of this decline even as they continue to argue that such research is now more important than ever cohrs, 20, ludeke, 2016. The victim is usually already under control, as in a prison, or else caught unawares, outnumbered, or overwhelmingly outweaponed. I have been recommending this book to liberals and conservatives alike. As i mentioned in my prior column, the first in this threepart series, to my knowledge no pe. The authoritarian dynamic musing about law, books, and. I wrote this book in 2006 when a great deal seemed to be going wrong in america, and i thought the research on authoritarian personalities could explain a lot of it. The authoritarian personality was an attempt by a group of researchers to explain the conditions that allowed naziism to gain a foothold in europe. The researchers, led by theodor adorno and max horkheimer, used various psychological scales to attempt to explain racism and the atmosphere that led to the slaughter of six million jews and others. Professor altemeyer has spent more than forty years doing research as a social psychologist into the parameters and root causes of authoritarian behavior in human beings. His experiments drew high praise from other scientists, and won the american association for the advancement of sciences prize for behavioral science research.
Antiauthoritarians are a threat to authoritarians because antiauthoritarians dont provide unquestioning obedience, but instead first assess the legitimacy of authoritiesevaluating their knowledge, competence, honesty, integrity, and concern for those people who are trusting them. Because this book is called the authoritarians, you may have thought it dealt with autocrats and despots, the kind of people who would rule their country, or department, or football team like a dictator. But at the other end of the spectrum, we have the possibility of learning the lessons of this disaster another colossal market failure enhanced by a. Jan 21, 2012 the book the authoritarians was written by bob altemeyer, associate professor, department of psychology, university of manitoba, winnipeg, canada. A huge crowd of ardent nazis fills the stadium on party day, while on the podium adolf hitler feasts on their adoration. It is something we are conscious of and see played out in elections and the daily news. The others was released august 10, 2001 in 1,678 theaters in the united states and. His first book, rightwing authoritarianism, was published in 1981 and robert bob altemeyer is a retired professor of psychology at the university of manitoba.
That book relied heavily on robert altemeyers studies involving authoritarian personalities. Authoritarian is routinely defined as favoring blind submission to authority. Hannah arendt and many others pontificated on the subject. The low authoritarians still have some inclinations to follow authorities, which can be ratcheted up by situational pressures. Robert bob altemeyer is a retired professor of psychology at the university of manitoba. A thinking persons guide to being an anti authoritarian. Jan 22, 2019 erica frantz of michigan state university sheds a bright light on the ways of contemporary authoritarians in a short book, entitled authoritarianism. Autocratic leaders and authoritarian followers revisited.
The other model thats worked is in wuhan, in china, and, right now, in california and france, and also in boston, which entails stopping nonessential business. The one weird trait that predicts whether youre a trump supporter. So even though this book is free, i hope that you will find it worth your reading, and that if you think its a good book, you will tell others about this web site so they can read it too. An analysis of trump supporters has identified 5 key traits a new report sheds light on the psychological basis for trumps support. Psychiatric marginalization of antiauthoritarians excerpt. More importantly, his explanation of the difference between a conservative outlook and an authoritarian personality has enabled me to understand how a vocal, fearful minority can shout down the civil discussions and nuanced outlook of a less fearful, less forceful majority. When the terrorist attack comes, remember that all authoritarians at all times either await or plan such events in order to consolidate power. Through a series of experiments and careful data analysis, they had come to a. Many people in mature democracies listen to authoritarians, whose voices are. A great deal was wrong with america then, and i thought the research on authoritarian personalities could explain a lot of it. In the new authoritarians, david renton approaches the problem from a new perspective. Around the world, many authoritarian regimes having largely corralled the internet now have declared war on the written word, their oldest. Today, the grand old republican party is controlled by authoritarian conservatives. Popular authoritarian books showing 150 of 60 1984 kindle edition by.
The authoritarians bob altemeyer associate professor. Discussion bob altemeyers rwa scalethe authoritarians. Authoritarians with power demand unquestioning obedience from those with lower rank, and authoritarian subordinates comply with all demands of authorities. The authoritarians may be obtained various ways and in various formats a free full version of the book is available in pdf format 1. The authority to identify new rights in effect gives its holders the power to define the limits of democracy itself. Adorno, else frenkelbrunswik, daniel levinson, and nevitt sanford, researchers working at the university of california, berkeley, during and shortly after world war ii.
The rise of the populist authoritarians financial times. I used this book for a class reading in a foreign policy seminar i teach. The dice came up sevens the class, an intelligent and thoughtful group, loved it. Indeed, the events of 2009 and 2010 have confirmed conclusion after conclusion in the authoritarians. The book would have been a dull one if one dictators writing. Moreover, they often act against them because they view them as weaknesses. Doing what the society wants, makes you a second hand human wanting the society to do what you want, makes you a narcissistic bigot but being an embodiment of humanhood without any expectation from others, is what makes you a sentient human. That is one meaning of the word, and yes, we shall talk about such people eventually in this book. Dec 07, 2018 the book begins with the longforgotten polish painter, writer and philosopher stanislaw ignacy witkiewicz and his book, insatiability. This is the second in a three part series of columns in which findlaw columnist john dean discusses his most recent book, conservatives without conscience ed. Coronavirus authoritarianism is getting out of hand. Popular authoritarianism books goodreads share book. Her research compares data on that rise, and on other factors like moral conservatism and education level, with election outcomes in various western democracies. Characterized by or favoring absolute obedience to authority, as against individual freedom.
Why authoritarians now control the republican party. Altemeyer makes a telling point in his notes to pages 917. Altemeyer is best known for a longterm selffunded study into what he terms rightwing authoritarianism rwa and builds heavily on the work of theodor adorno and others who studied authoritarian movements in the 20th century. Political scientists have created many typologies describing variations of authoritarian forms of government. Authoritarians definition of authoritarians by the free. Those with an authoritarian disposition have a bias against different others racial and ethnic outgroups, immigrants a normative threat is something that threatens sameness and order. A huge crowd of ardent nazis fills the stadium on party day. After world war ii, a great deal of noise was made about the concept of the authoritarian personality. The rise of britains far right a superior guide for understanding and combating right and farright movements across the globe today bill.
Also, authoritarianism isnt defined as strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom except when there is a pandemic. T his book was written in 2006, halfway through george w. Altemeyer on trumps supporters john dean verdict legal. The concept of the book, the status of authoritarianism and polarization in american politics is interesting. His first book, rightwing authoritarianism, was published in 1981 and born in st. One report which has been repeatedly deleted by the ccp and reposted by others. This website places at your disposal a free ebook entitled the authoritarians. Convergence on the right and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle.
455 343 912 860 1277 617 317 127 1255 582 947 1301 1139 1543 252 456 1067 170 933 437 170 250 31 475 1499 28 917 464 565 1496 153 44 1217 1035