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Right-Wing Populism in America:
Too Close for Comfort
by Chip Berlet and Matthew N. Lyons
New York: Guilford Publications, 2000
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Reviews of Right-Wing Populism in America
Library Journal
"This detailed historical examination...strikes an excellent
balance between narrative and theory. 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."
-Stephen Hupp, Urbana University, OH
Midwest Book Review
Right-wing militia and other anarchist organizations have received renewed
attention since the Oklahoma City bombing: Right-Wing Populism in America
examines their historical roots and current operations in this country,
with two leading political analysis providing the background and insights
on conspiracy theory, ethnic scapegoating and other movement trademarks.
From the Ku Klux Klan to nationalist cliques, this provides an important
consideration of sentiments and motivations
Elaine Wolff:
In their new book, "Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for
Comfort," Lyons and co-author Chip Berlet shed some much-needed
light on the power behind the New Right coalition and its firm foundation
in
American history. Berlet and Lyons caution the reader that racism and
scapegoating, far from fringe elements in our society, have been a key
ingredient in
the development of our nation from the very beginning because they speak
to the human temptation to find an easy target rather than challenge
the larger social and economic structures that create inequality....
...[T]he real problem with democracy is that almost no one really believes
in it. Many, if not most, people I meet are convinced that they and their like-minded
acquaintances are the only people fit to govern or vote. A pluralist society
is supposed to be based on the notion of reconciling and compromising conflicting
demands, but America has yet to see an era where one group or another wasn't
being demonized as the root of her problems. Scapegoating is useful, as authors
Chip Berlet and Matthew N. Lyons note in their new book...it diverts attention
away from the real causes of inequality.
Living Presence Ministries
Is there a cure for End-Time paranoia? Author Chip Berlet and Matthew
Lyons think so and the solution lies in breaking the "demonization, scapegoating
and conspiracy theory" cycle which predominates End-Time religion. Far
more than what most Americans think, right-wing militias and other antigovernment
organizations have influenced both mainstream politics and religion. This
book offers an in-depth look at the historical roots and current landscape
of right-wing
populism in the United States. The authors illuminate how antielitist rhetoric,
apocalyptic schemes, conspiracy theories, and ethnic scapegoating has fueled
many political movements from the colonial period to the present day. Right-Wing
Populism in America shows how large numbers of disaffected Americans have
embraced right-wing populism in a misguided attempt to pinpoint scapegoats
rather than
create solutions to underlying problems.
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