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Title details for Right-Wing Populism in America by Chip Berlet - Available

Right-Wing Populism in America

Too Close for Comfort

by Chip Berlet
Matthew N. Lyons
ebook
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White supremacist violence, QAnon, the MAGA movement—how did the United States get to where we are today? This enduring work offers a panoramic view of right-wing populism in the United States from the Colonial period through the 20th century. Chip Berlet and Matthew N. Lyons show how anti-elitist rhetoric, conspiracy theories, and ethnic scapegoating have influenced mainstream politics and culture throughout our history, far more than most Americans realize. The book examines the Jacksonians, the Ku Klux Klan, and a host of Cold War nationalist cliques, and relates them to the electoral campaigns of Patrick Buchanan, the militancy of the Posse Comitatus, the culture wars of the Christian Right, Clinton-era conspiracy theories, and more. Combining vivid description and incisive analysis, Berlet and Lyons explain how large numbers of disaffected Americans have long embraced right-wing populism in a misguided attempt to challenge power relations in U.S. society. The book offers a prescient perspective on the dangers that right-wing populism poses to our political system and to the goals of equality and social justice.
Winner—Outstanding Book Award, Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights in North America

  • Creators

  • Series

    Critical Perspectives

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    May 6, 2016

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

      • ISBN: 9781462537600

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781462528387
      • File size: 1555 KB

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781462528387
      • File size: 1555 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      November 15, 2000
      Berlet (editor, Eyes Right: Challenging the Right Wing Backlash) and Lyons (Grassroots Network: Radical Nonviolence in the Federal Republic of Germany, 1972-1985) do not see the racial, religious, social, and economic ideas of the Far Right as strictly marginal. Rather, they argue, right-wing populism is deeply rooted in American history. This detailed historical examination, ranging from Bacon's Rebellion in 1676 to modern militia movements, provides a theoretical basis for understanding the actions and ideas of these movements. The authors see common threads in populist ideology, including the distrust of non-producing elements (such as bankers), the scapegoating of groups (Jews or gays), and the use of apocalyptic narratives to present ideas to followers. The intersection of anti-multinational corporation ideas among Far Left and Far Right groups is particularly revealing. This work strikes an excellent balance between narrative and theory, complementing Michael P. Federici's largely theoretical The Challenge of Populism: The Rise of Right-Wing Democratism in Postwar America (Greenwood, 1991). Recommended for all public and academic libraries.--Stephen Hupp, Urbana Univ., OH

      Copyright 2000 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Library Journal

      May 1, 2013

      Through a sociopolitical lens, Berlet and Lyons present a historical look at right-wing populist movements. They begin with Bacon's Rebellion in 1676 and conclude with the Clinton presidency, highlighting the far right's long history of flirtation with anti-immigrant sentiment, racism, scapegoating, Christian nationalism, and patriotism as these themes relate to far-right movements. An adroit distillation of a complex sociopolitical history for the nonspecialist.

      Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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