When Authoritarians Stoke Fear & Anger, Democracies Can Win Through Reason & Resistance
Photo credit: Ben Schumin, via Creative Commons/Wikimedia.
In 2010, the Comedy Central channel sponsored the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear to poke fun at politicians attempting to manipulate voters with fear.
By Roger Rosenquist
Using fear of others to win political support is nothing new. For centuries, authoritarian movements have relied on this basic human instinct because history shows that appeals to fear can be politically effective. So, with the current authoritarian administration, it’s not surprising we are witnessing fear-based political rhetoric to a very high degree.
As noted by psychiatrist and neuroscientist Arash Javanbakht M.D., “There is a longstanding history of the fear of ‘the others’ turning humans into illogical ruthless weapons, in service to an ideology. Fear is arguably as old as life. Its roots are deep in our core psychological and biological being, and it is one of our most intimate feelings. Demagogues have always used fear for intimidation of the subordinates or enemies and shepherding the tribe by the leaders. Fear is a very strong tool that can blur humans’ logic and change their behavior.”
Building a political movement around fear is comparatively easy, as we have seen. It begins by identifying a visible group or culture as a target, then presenting reasons that group should be feared — for example, citing real or fabricated crimes or offensive acts by one of its members. A common claim is that the targeted group is taking jobs, housing, or public benefits supposedly “rightfully” belonging to others, casting the entire group as guilty or suspect.
In her book, “The Politics of Fear. What Right-Wing Populist Discourses Mean,” Ruth Wodak, PhD, emerita distinguished professor at Lancaster University, identifies the following tactics used during fear-based movements:
Scapegoating: Blaming a specific minority or opposition group for complex systemic issues.
Crisis Construction: Magnifying isolated problems into impending catastrophes to necessitate strong, authoritarian, or unilateral action.
Us vs. Them: Building group cohesion through the shared hatred or suspicion of a common "enemy".
The final goal of such a political movement is to turn fear into public policy. And, as we witnessed with the armed takeover by unidentifiable, masked federal agents in Minneapolis, such a movement can produce deadly consequences.
We believe this is a critical time for everyone to ask themselves “Is this what we want?” Do we want mass deportations of our hard-working friends and neighbors who are only guilty of wanting a better life for their children and themselves? It’s also time to ask if we are getting what a fear-based campaign promised? Are we really making America great solely by demonizing and deporting “the others”?
By contrast, building a grassroots political movement around clear, substantive policies is hard work. It demands thoughtful analysis of society’s challenges and careful research into the options, costs, and consequences of proposed solutions. And it requires all of us to participate in protecting our democracy with our attention to and support of like-minded candidates and most importantly, with our votes.
The choice between fear-based politics and policies and thoughtful, well-reasoned policies should be clear. Even researching and choosing which movement matches your personal values takes some amount of effort. But we see where inaction, knee-jerk reactions, or paralysis leads us, and the distinction really is stark.
We invite you to learn more about our organization and Project 2029’s policy ideas for a government that is responsive to the needs of its people.
Notes:
1. Javanbakht M.D., Arash. (2019, March 23.) The Politics of Fear, How it manipulates us into tribalism. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/contributors/arash-javanbakht-md
2. Wodak, PhD, Ruth. (2015.) The Politics of Fear. What Right-Wing Populist Discourses Mean. Sage. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282572733_The_Politics_of_Fear_What_Right-Wing_Populist_Discourses_Mean
