Why Would Those Who Say They Love Freedom Pledge Allegiance to an Authoritarian?

One way to think about critical thinking is to see it as premature thinking. It is highly unlikely that we would ever possess more than a tiny magnitude of relevant information when we form beliefs, conclusions, and decisions. If you agree with that frightening statement, humility should be our omnipresent associate.

Consequently, narcissists and solipsists would strike us as especially dangerous counselors. Authoritarians would be the last people we would allow to shape our future. Their specialty is controlling information, thereby precluding the effort to share conflicting perspectives as we seek wisdom.

So, what is going on in so many sovereign countries now. Democracy is under attack. To illustrate, a popular politician in the USA says if elected, he would unleash the military to assassinate opponents and imprison those who protest his mandates. He shouts that if something so unimaginable as his losing an election should be alleged by his opponents, they are ipso facto rigging such an election.

And what is so bizarre in a relatively literate nation, roughly half of Americans are excited about having such a person be their leader.

If you are like me, this development is other worldly. But roughly 70 years ago two books provided an explanation for the popularity of authoritarians even in countries where it would seem they would be rejected the first time we noticed their love of violence, misinformation, disinformation, and fetid blathering.

Both books remind us that human wisdom is not restricted to the thoughts of our contemporaries. We do ourselves major damage when we ignore the wisdom of our predecessors.

I hope you will take a look at Eric Hoffer’s The True Believer and Theodor Adorno’s The Authoritarian Personality.