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'Constant revolutionizing of production, uninterrupted disturbance of all social conditions, everlasting uncertainity and agitation distinquish the bourgeois epoch from all earlier ones ... All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned.' Marx

conservatism as authoritarianism? « Previous | |Next »
July 29, 2006

Is conservatism being transformed into authoritarianism based on the anxieties of reactionary populism? Do we have right wing right-wing authoritarians whose character is one of being part of the "paranoid style" of the conservative revolt against liberalism.This authoritarian character or personality is one of being:

...submissive toward authority, fundamentalist in orientation, dogmatic, socially isolated and insular, fearful of people different from themselves, hostile to minorities, uncritical toward dominating authority figures, prone to a constant sense of besiegement and panic, and punitive and self-righteous.

In Australia we have one-party rule in Canberra. In their campaign to retain power the Coalition, like the Republicans in the US, are staking their chips on the fear generated by the war on terror and the culture war, doubling and tripling their bets on the paranoid style. To that end, the memebrs of the Coalition talk in terms of what they increasingly call the "Australia Values Agenda".

| Posted by Gary Sauer-Thompson at 4:04 PM | | Comments (4)
Comments

Comments

Gary, Have you seen the essay The Authoritarian Streak in the Conservative Movement by John Dean?

On the 'paranoid style', I got a laugh from nebbish's comment on Aki Nawaz;

Maybe if the big knob didn't spend his time reacting against the Guardian-reading arts critics he mixes with, he'd realise that criticising liberalism isn't radical and scary and new, but is more commonly known as conservatism.

Sure, has not right wing parties always used people's prejudice, lack of wisdom and understanding to gather support?
I have not got a lot of patience with democracy any more.

...submissive toward authority, fundamentalist in orientation, dogmatic, socially isolated and insular, fearful of people different from themselves, hostile to minorities, uncritical toward dominating authority figures, prone to a constant sense of besiegement and panic, and punitive and self-righteous.


Pfft...