[View here as a Twitter thread]
(thread) Here’s a summary of “Authoritarianism is not a Momentary Madness” by former Princeton Professor Karen Stenner and NYU Professor Jonathan Haidt. This is one of the more complex essays in the collection: Can it Happen Here? Authoritarianism in
America.
2/ First, a definition. Authoritarianism is a strict and powerful central government with limited personal freedom. Such societies run smoothly (no need for compromise and the resulting gridlock) and very little street crime (because “criminals” are dealt with swiftly).
3/ Liberals tend to see the current rise of authoritarianism as a sudden madness triggered by, say, economic stress. In fact, about 1/3 of the population is by nature authoritarian—they dislike complexity, seek uniformity, & are deeply frightened by anyone who is “different.”
4/ “Conservatives” (those adverse to change) are different from authoritarians (those adverse to complexity). For decades American politics was dominated by Left (liberals) v. Right (conservatives.) Now the game has changed. Trump (Fox/Breitbart) changed the Repub. party
5/ . . into an authoritarian party. The politics is now Us v. Them. To prevent another Nazi (or fascist, or segregationist) regime, schools stress the evils inherent in these systems and promote the virtues of diversity. This cause a backlash because the 1/3 inclined. .
6/ . . . toward authoritarianism see academics as out of touch brainwashers who dismiss opposing ideas as bigoted & ignorant. Trump rose to power on a backlash against multiculturalism and diversity; his voters will follow him anywhere because he is one of them.
7/ The author’s solution: Liberals must understand, accept, and not vilify 1/3 of the population. Can this be done in a classroom without giving bigotry and racism a platform? Ideas anyone?
Adding: Thanks everyone for all the thoughtful comments. Looking back on writing this (was it really only a day ago? Seems like years) I seemed to have naively assumed that the authoritarian uprising would be defeated. The past 24 hours makes me wonder.
