Liberal Bullies
Liberal Bullies
"Liberal Bullies answers questions vital to preserving democracy, among them: which comes first, authoritarian followers or authoritarian leaders? What are authoritarian followers like? Why are liberals so reticent to admit their own leaders are authoritarian? Presenting innovative research against the backdrop of timeless political debates and current events – plus a final chapter on overcoming authoritarianism – this immensely readable book is a vital contribution to understanding political psychology. And what is at stake when we don’t."
—Sally Satel, MD, coauthor of Brainwashed
About the Book
The political left has an urgent and rising problem with authoritarianism. An alarmingly high percentage of self-identified progressives are punitive, bullying, and intolerant of disagreement— and the problem is getting worse. As social psychologist Luke Conway demonstrates, it’ s not just right-wing extremists who long for an authority figure to crush their enemies, silence opponents, and restore order; it’ s also those who preach “ be kind” and celebrate their “ inclusivity.” A persistent proportion of left-wingers demonstrate authoritarian tendencies, and they’ re becoming more emboldened as they gain cultural and political power. On a range of scientific and social issues, they are increasingly advocating censorship over free debate, disregarding the rule of law, and dehumanizing their opponents. These tendencies are part of an accelerating “ threat circle” of mutual hatred and fear between left and right that could tear apart our basic democratic norms. Concluding with an eloquent call for firm but rational resistance to this rising tide of liberal bullying, Conway presents a path forward that no one concerned about our hyper-partisan political arena can afford to ignore.
About the Author
Luke Conway, PhD, is a Full Professor of Psychology at Grove City College. His lab is at the forefront of research related to authoritarianism more broadly – and left-wing authoritarianism (LWA) specifically. He is the author of over ninety academic articles and book chapters, and is a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology and the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. His research has been featured in the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Huffington Post, Psychology Today, and others, as well as on the BBC and NPR. He lives in Western Pennsylvania.
Details
ISBN: 9781634312547
Format: hardcover
SRP: $29.95
Page count: 304 pages
Trim size: 6 x 9
Pub date: August 2024
"It will be a source of amusement to future historians that prominent early twenty-first-century psychologists denied the left could be as rigid and sanctimonious as the right. As Liberal Bullies shows, Luke Conway has played a key scientific role in bringing political psychology back to political reality."detractors.”
—Philip Tetlock, author of Superforecasting
"Conway shines a harsh light on the blind spots of academic social psychology, showing how progressive bias has prevented the discipline from interrogating the problem of left-wing authoritarianism. . . . This has justified censorship, cancel culture, and even jail time for wrongthink. ‘Liberal bullies’ and their fraudulent methods have backfired with the public, however, by producing a collapse of trust in elites, especially among conservatives. The only remedy is for people to rediscover their freedom, resist administrative diktats, and use their democratic power sparingly to rebalance society away from authoritarian progressivism toward freedom and reason."detractors.”
—Eric Kaufmann, author of Whiteshift
"Equal parts unnerving and inspiring, Luke Conway brings a principled stance on authoritarianism with Liberal Bullies that is disinterested in partisan axe-grinding in favor of an honest diagnosis of the problem and a proposed cure. This is a veritable road map to guide people in how to speak out against authoritarianism in all walks of life and how to engage it constructively."detractors.”
—Mitch Brown, Department of Psychological Science, University of Arkansas
"When I was an undergrad in the late 1980s, liberals were more open-minded. They didn’t seek to dehumanize, demean, destroy, fine, fire, shut down, sue or silence those they disagreed with. They were not the thuggish vanguard of what we now call cancel culture. Wow, how things have changed. But why? What is it about the minds of modern left-wing liberals that have made them authoritarian bullies? Professor Luke Conway tries to give us some answers. He deserves great credit for this bold exploration and for his willingness to candidly call these people precisely what they are. Perhaps if they read this book . . . they could do some introspection and try to make their lives and — I pray — the rest of ours better as well."detractors.”
—Paul Kengor, editor of The American Spectator
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