(Thread) The synagogue shooting, the cruelty of Trump’s border politics, the pipe bomber.
“What is happening to our country?” people ask. “HOW is this happening?”
The answer is given by psychologist Karen Stenner and other researchers.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-…
“What is happening to our country?” people ask. “HOW is this happening?”
The answer is given by psychologist Karen Stenner and other researchers.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-…
1/ Karen Stenner, author of the Authoritarian Dynamic, explains that about 1/3 of the population has what she calls an authoritarian predisposition to favor 'oneness and sameness' over freedom and diversity.
Basically they're predisposed to intolerance.
karenstenner.com
Basically they're predisposed to intolerance.
karenstenner.com
2/ Liberal democracy naturally creates diversity & complexity. For example, the liberal value of inclusiveness creates a society that authoritarians cannot tolerate. More on that here:
Authoritarians are averse to complexity and diversity.
Authoritarians are averse to complexity and diversity.
3/ Authoritarians can become intolerant and punitive if faced with "changing conditions and a societal threat" cambridge.org/catalogue/cata…
In the essay she coauthored with Jonathan Haidt, they called this a normative threat: Something that triggers the fears of an authoritarian.
In the essay she coauthored with Jonathan Haidt, they called this a normative threat: Something that triggers the fears of an authoritarian.
4/ Trump has risen to power by creating normative threats (something that scares authoritarians even though there is no outward cause for fright) like Mexico is sending rapist, or that the Democrats funded a caravan of criminals and middle easterners to invade our country.
5/ When Max Boot says it's just wrong to compare Trump to Hitler, he is simplifying and misunderstanding what scholars like Jason Stanley @jasonintrator and others are saying.
They're trying to explain that Trump uses the same tactics to rile his base.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-…
They're trying to explain that Trump uses the same tactics to rile his base.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-…
6/ Stenner explains that the way to save liberal democracy is to first understand that some people can't tolerate a diverse society. When the level of complexity becomes intolerable they'll "push back with a vengeance."
karenstenner.com
karenstenner.com
7/ "Push back with a vengeance" is scholarly talk for "they'll get violent."
Stenner and Haitd thus explain that Trump's America happened because liberal democracy in America exceeded many people's capacity to tolerate it.
Stenner and Haitd thus explain that Trump's America happened because liberal democracy in America exceeded many people's capacity to tolerate it.
8/ Stenner also explains how to save liberal democracy from the "vengeance" of those who cannot tolerate it. karenstenner.com
She says that "democracy is most secure and tolerance is maximized when we design systems to accommodate how people actually are. . .
She says that "democracy is most secure and tolerance is maximized when we design systems to accommodate how people actually are. . .
9/ . . . Because some people will never live comfortably in a modern liberal democracy."
The way to understand Trump's solution (more death penalty) is to use additional authoritarian techniques: Hurt people back! Punish them harshly! Meet violence with more violence!
The way to understand Trump's solution (more death penalty) is to use additional authoritarian techniques: Hurt people back! Punish them harshly! Meet violence with more violence!
10/ It seems to me the solution is more civilized: Take back control of the government from those with authoritarian impulses (and who are riling other authoritarians to violence) and then find a better way to deal with the 1/3 of the population who is vulnerable to such fears.
