Nazis, Communists, Klansmen, and Others on the Fringe
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Nazis, Communists, Klansmen, and Others on the Fringe: Political Extremism in America is a 1992 book by John George and Laird Wilcox. It is an examination of political extremism of both the far left and far right in the United States.
The authors attempt to summarize the pre-1960 historical background of American extremist movements, discuss conspiracy theories and their validity, offer their insight on what motivates extremists, and discuss a number of contemporary groups on the "far left" and "far right" based principally on their personal contacts with approximately six hundred individual extremists and the extremists' own writings.
It was published by Prometheus Books (Buffalo, New York) in 1992 as a 523-page hardcover (ISBN 0-87975-680-2). In 1996, Prometheus Books (Amherst, New York) republished it as American Extremists: Militias, Supremacists, Klansmen, Communists and Others in a 443-page paperback (ISBN 1-57392-058-4).
[edit] Quotation
- "We are always asked: "How did you get interested in political extremism?" This is a reasonable question because the subject admittedly is somewhat arcane. Yet political extremism has a mystique all its own, combining elements of superstition, urban legend, and political utopianism. While, by definition, extremists roam about the fringes of our culture, they also pay close attention to our culture. Agreeing with them little, nonetheless, we can learn a lot from them and their social and political concerns." —from the preface.
[edit] Contents
| Part | Chapter | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Preface | The authors give the history of their personal interest in political extremism. Recognizing their fallibility, and inability to claim "anything approaching complete objectivity", the authors attempted to "make an honest and diligent attempt to be fair and even-handed in our treatment of this subject." Distinguishing this book from the many covering "extremism" or "extremists" on the market (with their own agenda "to provide a rationale for persecuting or doing away with certain 'extremists'"), the authors' goal was "to provide understanding of a human problem, not a basis for one more round of persecutions." The authors propose a definition of "extremism" based on "the behavioral model" ("defined in terms of certain behaviors, particularly behavior toward other human beings"), passing up the "normative or "statistical" way" (framing the spectrum on a linear scale, a "bell curve") and the "popularity contest" theory ("social definition agreed upon by collective fiat"). The authors describe their position on the political spectrum as "a bit difficult to pin down"; they "might be most accurately described as pragmatists with libertarian tendencies." | |
| Part I. Background, Characteristics, Motivations, and Other Considerations | 1. It's Not New: Historical Perspective on American Extremism Prior to 1960 | |
| 2. What Is Extremism? Style and Tactics Matter More Than Goals | ||
| 3. Extremists and the Constitution | ||
| 4. Motivations: Why They Join, Stay, Leave | ||
| Part II. The Far Left | 5. Communist Party USA | |
| 6. Socialist Workers Party | ||
| 7. Spartacist League | ||
| 8. Workers League | ||
| 9. Guardian | ||
| 10. Black Panther Party | ||
| 11. Students for a Democratic Society | ||
| 12. Progressive Labor Party | ||
| 13. Workers World Party | ||
| 14. Communist Party USA (Marxist-Leninist) | ||
| 15. Revolutionary Action Movement | ||
| 16. Revolutionary Communist Party | ||
| 17. Communist Workers Party | ||
| 18. All African People's Revolutionary Party | ||
| 19. Marxist-Leninist Party, USA | ||
| Part III. The Far Right | 20. Reverend Billy James Hargis and his Christian Crusade | |
| 21. The John Birch Society: A Plot to Sell Books? | ||
| 22. The Dan Smoot Report | ||
| 23. "Life Line" | ||
| 24. The Church League of America | ||
| 25. The Christian Right | ||
| 26. Willis Carto and Liberty Lobby | ||
| 27. The Citizens' Councils of America and The Councilor | ||
| 28. Robert Bolivar DePugh and the Minutemen | ||
| 29. Common Sense | ||
| 30. Gerald L.K. Smith and Christian Nationalist Crusade | ||
| 31. The LaRouche Network | ||
| 32. Jewish Defense League | ||
| 33. The Nation of Islam | ||
| 34. Assorted Neo-Nazis | Covers the National Renaissance Party, the American Nazi Party, and the National Socialist Party of America; Neo-Nazi splinters and sects like the America First Committee, the American White Nationalist Party, the Euro-American Alliance, the National Alliance, the National Democratic Front, the National Socialist League/World Service, the National Socialist Liberation Front, the National Socialist Movement, the National Socialist Vanguard, the National Socialist White America Party, the NSDAP/AO, the National Socialist White Workers Party, the Social Nationalist Aryan Peoples Party, the SS Action Group, and the United White Peoples Party; major groups of the 1980s like Aryan Nations, The Mountain Church of Jesus Christ, The Order, Posse Comitatus, and White Aryan Resistance. | |
| 35. The National States Rights Party | ||
| 36. National Christian Publishers | ||
| 37. Ku Klux Klans | ||
| Appendix I. Fake Quotes and Fabricated Documents: A Common Extremist Tactic | ||
| Appendix II. Principal Characteristics of the Extremes and the Mainstream in America: A Handy Guide for Extremist Watchers | ||
| Index |
[edit] External links
- American Extremists at the publisher's website.
- American Extremists at Questia.com.
