[lit-ideas] Re: Ten most harmful books...
- From: Judy Evans <judithevans001@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 2 Jun 2005 16:04:01 +0100
Stan
SS> I think "The Authoritarian Personality"'s on that list because it refle=
cts
SS> poorly on the personality of many of those wingnuts who put it there. W=
hen I
SS> looked up Adorno's book on Yahoo, this is what I got:
Yahoo> "Adorno's F-Scale now includes Fundamentalist Christians and others =
not
> originally categorized.
Ah -- I see. When I read the book they weren't there, and I haven't
kept up with the F-Scale.
Yahoo>Only adherence to the F-Scale, which
> brands all dissenters to a liberal catechism with the labels of racism and
> anti-Semitism, explains the disdain of the media for conservative spokesm=
en
> and policies,
that's wingnutty, yes!
Yahoo>It is more than time that the assumptions of Dr. Adorno,
> conceived in the heat of a terrible war and in the distress of his expuls=
ion
> from Germany, should be dragged into the light of day to be examined and
> laid to rest in the name of freedom, justice, and truth."
Well actually, though the Chalcedon mob wouldn't know it, Adorno (et.
al.) has been subject to massive peer critique (see for example
Christie/Jahoda,1954). But it was respectful and scholarly peer
critique.
And the discussion of authoritarian personalities has of course
suggested that those on the Left are authoritarian etc. too (that's
over-simplified, sorry), so much so that Milton Rokeach devoted an
entire book to testing it out.
(But a lot of people within academia, including some writing on this
subject, don't seem to know the history of the discussion of _The A. P._
and the F-Scale.)
Yahoo repeated>in the name of freedom, justice, and truth.
I see they're fighting for the right to be authoritarian...
thank you, Stan
Judy
Thursday, June 2, 2005, 2:50:33 PM, Stan Spiegel wrote:
SS> Judy -
SS> I think "The Authoritarian Personality"'s on that list because it refle=
cts
SS> poorly on the personality of many of those wingnuts who put it there. W=
hen I
SS> looked up Adorno's book on Yahoo, this is what I got:
SS> "Adorno's F-Scale now includes Fundamentalist Christians and others not
SS> originally categorized. Although Dr. Jerry Falwell is a supporter of Is=
rael,
SS> he is, nevertheless, held to lead an anti-Semitic organization. The Mor=
al
SS> Majority is considered, by believers in the F-Scale, to be obviously
SS> fascistic.
SS> The Adorno Theory, therefore, is all around us, and it seems likely to
SS> remain for the rest of our lives. It may even last for generations, for
SS> militant prejudice cloaked as intellectuality is one of the more diffic=
ult
SS> demons to exorcise from a nation. Only adherence to the F-Scale, which
SS> brands all dissenters to a liberal catechism with the labels of racism =
and
SS> anti-Semitism, explains the disdain of the media for conservative spoke=
smen
SS> and policies, and the otherwise mysterious preference of advertising
SS> agencies for the more leftist of publication choices. It also explains =
the
SS> reluctance of so many politicians to be associated with conservative
SS> positions and groups, especially in respect to "social" issues.
SS> It is more than time, therefore, that conservatives and Christians (who=
are
SS> not synonymous, and not always together on a number of issues) should
SS> realize that they are tarred, and have been for a number of years, by t=
he
SS> same brush. It is more than time that the assumptions of Dr. Adorno,
SS> conceived in the heat of a terrible war and in the distress of his expu=
lsion
SS> from Germany, should be dragged into the light of day to be examined and
SS> laid to rest in the name of freedom, justice, and truth."
SS> Copyright =A9 1981-1994 Chalcedon Report, P.O. Box 158, Vallecito, CA 9=
5251
SS> Stan Spiegel
SS> ----- Original Message -----=20
SS> From: "Judy Evans" <judithevans001@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
SS> To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
SS> Sent: Wednesday, June 01, 2005 1:51 PM
SS> Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Ten most harmful books...
>> Wednesday, June 1, 2005, 5:11:45 AM, Stan Spiegel wrote:
>>
>> SS> I wonder what would make Rachel Carson toxic -- and Ralph Nader
SS> unsafe --
>> SS> enough to justify including them on this peculiar list. Why, even Jo=
hn
>> SS> Stuart Mill, Friedan, DeBeauvoir and B.F. Skinner made the list, not
SS> to
>> SS> mention whatshisname who wrote the Origin of the Species. Including
SS> him as a
>> SS> runner-up really helps characterize the crazy people who put together
SS> this
>> SS> list.
>>
>> >
mailto:judithevans001@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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