Fear Mongering
Fear Mongering
Read notes from Gideon Rosenblatt and the article itself.
Originally shared by Gideon Rosenblatt
Bigger Than Trump: the Bigger Picture on American Authoritarianism
Like many, I am deeply puzzled by what is now happening in the United States. I think this article does a good job of explaining the rise of Trump and similar candidates. It paints a kind of fear-based response to change, one that desperately seeks the power to stop that change, by building authoritarian power.
In the sense meant by this article, authoritarianism isn't a synonym to fascism; it's meant more as a kind of personality profile that seeks order and stability. That is what is important to understand about the rise of Trump today. It is a response to feelings of disruptions and uncertainty about the future.
One of the breakthroughs in studying authoritarianism as personality type was to look at parenting values. Some of the variables for assessing authoritarianism include preferences between:
* independence or respect for elders?
* obedience or self-reliance?
* to be considerate or to be well-behaved?
* curiosity or good manners?
One of the questions that this research seems to shed light into is the sense that Trump's support has suddenly come out of the woodwork. Here, it's important to understand the notion of "activation":
Stenner argued that many authoritarians might be latent — that they might not necessarily support authoritarian leaders or policies until their authoritarianism had been "activated."
This activation could come from feeling threatened by social changes such as evolving social norms or increasing diversity, or any other change that they believe will profoundly alter the social order they want to protect. In response, previously more moderate individuals would come to support leaders and policies we might now call Trump-esque.
Other researchers, like Hetherington, take a slightly different view. They believe that authoritarians aren't "activated" — they've always held their authoritarian preferences — but that they only come to express those preferences once they feel threatened by social change or some kind of threat from outsiders.
So how big is the population of authoritarians in the United States?
The first thing that jumped out from the data on authoritarians is just how many there are. Our results found that 44 percent of white respondents nationwide scored as "high" or "very high" authoritarians, with 19 percent as "very high." That's actually not unusual, and lines up with previous national surveys that found that the authoritarian disposition is far from rare.
There is a great deal more in this article. It points out, for example, that one of the driving sources of fear behind the authoritarian personality is a fear of outsiders.
What is most likely, Hetherington suggested, is that authoritarians are much more susceptible to messages that tell them to fear a specific "other" — whether or not they have a preexisting animus against that group. Those fears would therefore change over time as events made different groups seem more or less threatening.
When it comes to the Republican Party, authoritarians may well be splitting it asunder:
Now a similar divide is playing out at the presidential level, with results that are even more destructive for the Republican Party. Authoritarians may be a slight majority within the GOP, and thus able to force their will within the party, but they are too few and their views too unpopular to win a national election on their own.
And so the rise of authoritarianism as a force within American politics means we may now have a de facto three-party system: the Democrats, the GOP establishment, and the GOP authoritarians.
For decades, the Republican Party has been winning over authoritarians by implicitly promising to stand firm against the tide of social change, and to be the party of force and power rather than the party of negotiation and compromise. But now it may be discovering that its strategy has worked too well — and threatens to tear the party apart.
http://www.vox.com/2016/3/1/11127424/trump-authoritarianism
Read notes from Gideon Rosenblatt and the article itself.
Originally shared by Gideon Rosenblatt
Bigger Than Trump: the Bigger Picture on American Authoritarianism
Like many, I am deeply puzzled by what is now happening in the United States. I think this article does a good job of explaining the rise of Trump and similar candidates. It paints a kind of fear-based response to change, one that desperately seeks the power to stop that change, by building authoritarian power.
In the sense meant by this article, authoritarianism isn't a synonym to fascism; it's meant more as a kind of personality profile that seeks order and stability. That is what is important to understand about the rise of Trump today. It is a response to feelings of disruptions and uncertainty about the future.
One of the breakthroughs in studying authoritarianism as personality type was to look at parenting values. Some of the variables for assessing authoritarianism include preferences between:
* independence or respect for elders?
* obedience or self-reliance?
* to be considerate or to be well-behaved?
* curiosity or good manners?
One of the questions that this research seems to shed light into is the sense that Trump's support has suddenly come out of the woodwork. Here, it's important to understand the notion of "activation":
Stenner argued that many authoritarians might be latent — that they might not necessarily support authoritarian leaders or policies until their authoritarianism had been "activated."
This activation could come from feeling threatened by social changes such as evolving social norms or increasing diversity, or any other change that they believe will profoundly alter the social order they want to protect. In response, previously more moderate individuals would come to support leaders and policies we might now call Trump-esque.
Other researchers, like Hetherington, take a slightly different view. They believe that authoritarians aren't "activated" — they've always held their authoritarian preferences — but that they only come to express those preferences once they feel threatened by social change or some kind of threat from outsiders.
So how big is the population of authoritarians in the United States?
The first thing that jumped out from the data on authoritarians is just how many there are. Our results found that 44 percent of white respondents nationwide scored as "high" or "very high" authoritarians, with 19 percent as "very high." That's actually not unusual, and lines up with previous national surveys that found that the authoritarian disposition is far from rare.
There is a great deal more in this article. It points out, for example, that one of the driving sources of fear behind the authoritarian personality is a fear of outsiders.
What is most likely, Hetherington suggested, is that authoritarians are much more susceptible to messages that tell them to fear a specific "other" — whether or not they have a preexisting animus against that group. Those fears would therefore change over time as events made different groups seem more or less threatening.
When it comes to the Republican Party, authoritarians may well be splitting it asunder:
Now a similar divide is playing out at the presidential level, with results that are even more destructive for the Republican Party. Authoritarians may be a slight majority within the GOP, and thus able to force their will within the party, but they are too few and their views too unpopular to win a national election on their own.
And so the rise of authoritarianism as a force within American politics means we may now have a de facto three-party system: the Democrats, the GOP establishment, and the GOP authoritarians.
For decades, the Republican Party has been winning over authoritarians by implicitly promising to stand firm against the tide of social change, and to be the party of force and power rather than the party of negotiation and compromise. But now it may be discovering that its strategy has worked too well — and threatens to tear the party apart.
http://www.vox.com/2016/3/1/11127424/trump-authoritarianism
Thanks Zara Altair. It's funny; I ended this article feeling a bit more worried about where we are headed here in the US, but at the same time having a bit more empathy for Trump supporters. Fear is a powerful force. It also suggests paths for healing.
ReplyDeleteGideon Rosenblatt Fear does suggest paths for healing. I'm hoping we start down that path soon.
ReplyDeleteAmen.
ReplyDeleteZara Altair Gideon Rosenblatt There seem to be a lot of us out here writing about Trump and fear. I, too, sense there are opportunities for us now for some pretty important and distinctive learning if we can step back and look, dealing with a certain murkiness and anxiety of our own. Thanks to both of you for referencing a fine article and sharing your insightful observations!
ReplyDeleteDan Oestreich So agree! The first step is to notice. Then consider best actions...one at a time. Thanks for stopping by. :)
ReplyDeleteI think you're right, Dan Oestreich. Without stepping back and gaining that distance and perspective, it becomes all too easy to react and feed into a cycle of hatred and fear. Compassion and empathy and some if the first steps to breaking that cycle and strong back from that ledge.
ReplyDelete