The best answer to this question comes from Richard Hofstadter's classic work. "The Paranoid Style in American Politics."
One theory is that we are in the grip of something new and terrifying that has never before happened . . .
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One theory is that we are in the grip of something new and terrifying that has never before happened . . .
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In fact, what we’re witnessing has deep roots in American history.
Hofstadter conducted a review of American politics from before the founding of the nation through McCarthyism and noticed a pattern among a small impassioned minority on the fringes of the political spectrum.
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Hofstadter conducted a review of American politics from before the founding of the nation through McCarthyism and noticed a pattern among a small impassioned minority on the fringes of the political spectrum.
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He called their behavior the “paranoid style” in politics.
The paranoid style afflicts radical movements on the left as well as the right, but because Hofstadter wrote just after the McCarthy theory (and early 20th century fascism) he focused more on the right wing.
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The paranoid style afflicts radical movements on the left as well as the right, but because Hofstadter wrote just after the McCarthy theory (and early 20th century fascism) he focused more on the right wing.
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Those embracing the paranoid style of politics believe that unseen satanic forces are trying to destroy something larger in which they belong.
The “something larger” to which they belong is generally phrased as “the American way of life.”
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The “something larger” to which they belong is generally phrased as “the American way of life.”
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They “feel dispossessed” and that “America has been largely taken away from them and their kind.”
They are “determined to repossess it and prevent the final act of subversion.”
They therefore adopt extreme measures.
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They are “determined to repossess it and prevent the final act of subversion.”
They therefore adopt extreme measures.
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They will stop at nothing to prevent what they see as an impending calamity.
Hofstadter wrote this in 1964.
A mistake we make is to think this: OMG nothing like this has ever happened before!
@TimothyDSnyder explains that shock is pre-helpless.
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Hofstadter wrote this in 1964.
A mistake we make is to think this: OMG nothing like this has ever happened before!
@TimothyDSnyder explains that shock is pre-helpless.
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If you think nothing like this has ever happened, you don't know what to do.
Look at it this way: Liberals (in the classic sense) view our history differently from the Fox-TRUMP-GOP.
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Look at it this way: Liberals (in the classic sense) view our history differently from the Fox-TRUMP-GOP.
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The liberal view goes like this: America started out with some great ideas, but "we the people" was limited to white, mostly landowning and educated men.
As "we the people" has expanded to include more groups (women, minorities, etc) we are approaching our founding ideals.
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As "we the people" has expanded to include more groups (women, minorities, etc) we are approaching our founding ideals.
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Liberals see the slope of American history like this.
The Fox-GOP sees American history in the complete opposite way.
Their view: In the beginning there was almost no federal government. Privileged white men had almost complete personal liberty.
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The Fox-GOP sees American history in the complete opposite way.
Their view: In the beginning there was almost no federal government. Privileged white men had almost complete personal liberty.
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The Fox-GOP view is like this.
To achieve equality, we needed a strong federal government, agencies, and regulations. We needed to stop all that cheating and grabbing. (I've explained in detail elsewhere.)
These two views have been in conflict since the beginning.
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To achieve equality, we needed a strong federal government, agencies, and regulations. We needed to stop all that cheating and grabbing. (I've explained in detail elsewhere.)
These two views have been in conflict since the beginning.
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There were colonial men who wanted women, Native Americans, and African Americans to have equal rights.
They were outvoted because women, Native Americans and African Americans could not vote.
I now understand that the graph looks like this:
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They were outvoted because women, Native Americans and African Americans could not vote.
I now understand that the graph looks like this:
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I also understand the battle has to be fought in each generation, because the reactionaries are not going away.
We push forward.
They push back.
It never ends, unless we all give up, at which point we slide into autocracy.
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We push forward.
They push back.
It never ends, unless we all give up, at which point we slide into autocracy.
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