The_Authoritarians-Bob_Altemeyer-2007

The Authoritarians 2007 Bob Altemeyer Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Manitoba ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OK, what's this book about? It's about what happened to the American government after "conservatives" gained control of Congress in the 1990s and the White House in 2000. It's about the disastrous decisions that government made, which have created the enormous problems we face now. It's about the corruption that rotted the Congress. It's about how traditional conservatism has nearly been destroyed by authoritarianism. It's about how the "Religious Right" teamed up with amoral authoritarian leaders to push its un-democratic agenda onto the country. "Well," you might be thinking, "I don't believe any of this is true." Or maybe you're thinking, "What else is new? I've known this all along." Why should a conservative, moderate, or liberal bother with this book? Why should any Republican, Independent, or Democrat click the "Introduction" link on this page? Because if you do, you'll begin an easy-ride journey through some relevant scientific studies I have done on authoritarian personalities--one that will take you a heck of a lot less time than the decades it took me. Those studies have a direct bearing on all the topics mentioned above. So if you think the first paragraph is a lot of hokum, or full of half-truths, I invite you to look at the research. For example, take the following statement: "Once our government leaders and the authorities condemn the dangerous elements in our society, it will be the duty of every patriotic citizen to help stomp out the rot that is poisoning our country from within." Sounds like something Hitler would say, right? Want to guess how many politicians, how many lawmakers in the United States agreed with it? Want to guess what they had in common? Or how about a government program that persecutes political parties, or minorities, or journalists the authorities do not like, by putting them in jail, even torturing and killing them. Nobody would approve of that, right? Guess again. Don't think for a minute this doesn't concern you personally. Let me ask you, as we're passing the time here, how many ordinary people do you think an evil authority would have to order to kill you before he found someone who would, unjustly, out of sheer obedience, just because the authority said to? What sort of person is most likely to follow such an order? What kind of official is most likely to give that order, if it suited his purposes? Look at what experiments tell us, as I did. If, on the other hand, you're way ahead of me, and believe the extreme right-wing elements in America are still working to take over the country despite the recent election--nay because of it--I think you can still get a lot from this book. The authoritarians aren't going away. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This book can also be downloaded for free: http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/ A calc-sheet is included to help the reader summarize their scores on the first three "tests" from the first chapter. Enjoy!

udp://tracker.openbittorrent.com:80
udp://open.demonii.com:1337
udp://tracker.coppersurfer.tk:6969
udp://exodus.desync.com:6969

ToTheLaw (2009-03-23)

Thanks for sharing--good recommendation. This has been sitting on my seeding list for much longer than other torrents... more people need to start downloading this good read.
One criticism of the book: the findings are too narrowly focused. A lot of this in my experience would apply equally well to a "left wing anti-authoritarian (LWAA)" measurement.
Quotes:
Believe it or not, researchers are not allowed to organize murderous mobs to
study hostility. So we have to study authoritarian aggression in subtler ways.
For example these churches strongly advocate a traditional family structure of
father-as-head, mother as subservient to her husband and caretaker of the husband?s
begotten, and kids as subservient, period. The authoritarian followers who fill a lot of
the pews in these churches strongly agree. And they want everybody?s family to be
like that. (A word of advice, guys: check with your wives first.)
If you try instead to study the ?leaks? from the Freudian unconscious, such as
dreams or fantasies, you get a mishmash that can be interpreted however you wish.
Suppose you did a study of dreams and concluded that authoritarians greatly love their
parents. ?Ah ha,?the theory would say with goose bumps breaking out, ?there?s that
reaction-formation I told you about.? Suppose you found, on the other hand, that
authoritarians seemed to hate their parents. ?Ah ha,? the Freudians would remark,
?Just as we said; their unconscious mind is so filled with dislike for dad and mom, it
can?t be held back any more.? Suppose you found that authoritarians dream both good
things and bad things about their parents. ?Ah ha,? goes the explanation. ?You see
both repression and the true feelings are at work.?

B110 (2009-03-23)

Agreed, ToTheLaw, but to be fair the author dedicates a portion of the first chapter explaining exactly that - see page 9.
"So a right-wing authoritarian follower doesn?t necessarily have
conservative political views. Instead he?s someone who readily submits to the
established authorities in society, attacks others in their name, and is highly
conventional. It?s an aspect of his personality, not a description of his politics."
So you are completely correct - I guess it's written primarily from a present-day US point of view which makes the choice of words a bit more understandable. You could also argue that he uses the older left:right::progressive:conservative definition.
Either way the reader needs to remember that authoritarians are authoritarians no matter which end of political spectrum they represent!