[Bondo]

The Authoritarians, by Bob Altemeyer, is available for free in pdf form.

[Jason Vines]

The book does look interesting, although I find Altemeyer's screed on the front page too polemical and unbalanced for what's purportedly a scientific examination of authoritarian mindsets. Look at this excerpt:

Bob Altemeyer said:

If, on the other hand, you?re way ahead of me, and believe the extreme right-wing elements in America are poised to take it over, permanently, I think you can still get a lot from this book. The studies explain so much about these people. Yes, the research shows they are very aggressive, but why are they so hostile? Yes, experiments show they are almost totally uninfluenced by reasoning and evidence, but why are they so dogmatic? Yes, studies show the Religious Right has more than its fair share of hypocrites, from top to bottom; but why are they two-faced, and how come one face never notices the other? Yes, their leaders can give the flimsiest of excuses and even outright lies about things they?ve done wrong, but why do the rank-and-file believe them? What happens when authoritarian followers find the authoritarian leaders they crave and start marching together?

I think you?ll find this book ?explains a lot.? Many scattered impressions about the enemies of freedom and equality become solidified by science and coherently connected here.

So the right has so many more authoritarians than the left, they deserve a book concentrating on them exclusively as "the enemies of freedom"? I don't think so.

I'll read the book as I can over the next week or so, because it probably makes good points about domineering tendencies on the right (discussion of which is important!). But I'm disappointed it ignores the left altogether.

[Bondo]

I knew this would happen. You're making me feel guilty for suggesting a book I haven't read!

I'm intrigued about it because of the John Dean connection. I have skimmed the book, and like you might expect from the internet, it appears to be informal and conversational, and I'm not certain how useful or informative it is-- it may very well be pedantic.

I'm more interested in the books that provide examples, but even if it deals with some of the science and theory behind authoritarian mindsets, and it might still be a useful resource, particularly in conjunction with another text. And, besides, its free and readily available for those who don't have easy access to other texts.