Republicanism = Authoritarian Complex

[SHRED]

No "nicer" way to say it.

Working class voters who vote Republican need a King, a General, someone that tells them what to do and how to think. Real liberation of the mind...real freedom scares the shit out of them.

And not to leave out those types in the Democratic Party but I find there's a lot less over there.

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[longship]

1. John W. Dean's "Conservatives Without Conscience" is important here.

John Dean is a very bright guy. His book, Conservatives Without Conscience, was a landmark in this domain. The book is well researched, with tons of end notes.

If you're interested in the authoritarian view of conservative politics, this is a must read.

[Tansy_Gold]

2. Go directly to the source -- Bob Altemyer's "The Authoritarians"

Altemyer worked with Dean on Conservatives without Conscience; Altemyer's book is available as a free PDF at

http://members.shaw.ca/jeanaltemeyer/drbob/TheAuthoritarians.pdf

[longship]

3. Thanks much.

I was going to cite Altemeyer in my post, but opted to keep it simple.

The two books would be a good pairing.

I bought Dean's book at a Dean reading in SoCal; met him briefly. He is a very gentle person who has a fire in his belly about what has happened to the Republican party.

Thank you again for your amplification.

[Tansy_Gold]

4. The two books together give the broader picture

And especially about the "double standard" nature of right wing authoritarianism. At the core of their belief system is an acceptance of INequality as right and normal, that "the rich/powerful are different" and are not to be held to the same standards. "Family values," for instance, only apply to the followers, not the leaders. This is how right wing leaders like Ensign and Stanford and Vitter remain in power while an Anthony Weiner, Elliot Spitzer and John Edwards are crucified (at least temporarily) by the Dems. Dems/liberals/lefties believe in one standard for all.

I think understanding that core is essential to understanding why the tea party types behave the way they do; their belief system is not just an economic opposite of the left, but rather it is also a complete repudiation of the essential values of the left. And it is all held together with lots and lots and lots of fear.

Except Altemyer explains it a whole lot better than I.

[Uncle Joe]

5. That's why the Republican Party; fully supports corporate supremacy over the people

and their elected representative government.

The corporate supremacists own that party, it's a natural fit.

They can't openly come out and say the U.S. should have a King, Queen or dictator so they do the next best thing weaken the government while promoting the CEOs of mega corps and the plutocrats to rule.

The underlying message being human value or worth = money whether it's the amount one can make or already has.

The people are demeaned with relentless propaganda by overt and more subtle means in addition to the promotion of draconian laws which in effect criminalizes the general populace.

Thanks for the thread, Shred.

[ck4829]

6. That's pretty much it

Conservatism is resistance to policies through time, authoritarianism can also be seen as a resistance against people.

Conservatives might support some policies such as affirmative action and some gay rights if it promotes order. These 'conservatives' act like affirmative action is 'black liberation theology race war' and that gays are ten foot tall evil wizards.