UC BERKELEY STUDY - What do Hitler, Mussolini, Reagan and Rush Limbaugh Have in common....

UCBerkely News ^ | 22 July 2003 | Kathleen Maclay

[mwfsu84]

From my perspective, the psychologists in question are idiots when it comes to history.

According to their criteria, the ideal leader would be Neville Chamberlin.

I wouldn't be surprised if these people are still smarting from Reagan's "Evil Empire" speech twenty years ago. They should talk to some of the former dissents in the former Soviet gulags, who were thrilled to hear the first Amercian president who WASN'T ambigious about what Marxism was.

Inequality is in the eye of the beholder. It's true many conservatives don't believe gays should have equal rights when it comes to marriage. But most liberals don't believe unborn children should have equal rights when it comes to life.

Ecomomic equality is a trait that Hilter and Lenin wholeheartedly endorsed. It was a major platform promise that helped sweep them into power. Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union were socialist regimes gone haywire. The most stable, peaceful nations on earth are capitalist ones -because they have the most to lose.

The good news is that along with Reagan, Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln would fit into the profile as well. That's not shoddy company.

[dix]

Thanks, for the link. Freerepublic is such a resource. It would nice if our point of view was taught in the public schools.

[atomic conspiracy]

What do Stalin, Pol Pot, and Berzerkly psy-quacks have in common?

Tendency to speak in authoritarian pronouncements.

Impulse to control through the invocation of personal authority.

Characterization of opposing viewpoints as insane or criminal

Low regard for logic and critical thought.

Constant transition from moral rigidity to moral ambiguity as the defense of their position requires.

[Ramius]

Well, you know what they say:

One man's gulag is another man's... hmm... dang... it's still a gulag. :-)

[hellinahandcart]

What do Hitler, Mussolini, Reagan and Rush Limbaugh Have in common....

All four are male.

Now gimme your grant money, you useless twits...

[Reagan Man]

Reagan and Limbaugh are like Hitler and Mussolini.

This is pure crap.

Fascism is a political philosophy that "that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.

Nazism is "the body of political and economic doctrines held and put into effect by the National Socialist German Workers' party in the Third German Reich including the totalitarian principle of government, state control of all industry, predominance of groups assumed to be racially superior, and supremacy of the führer".

Talk about convoluted reasoning. Hitler and Mussolini were leftwingers, not rightwingers. And both Reagan and Limbaugh are individuals who believe in the future of America.

[Sci Fi Guy]

Concerns with fear and threat, likewise, can be linked to a second key dimension of conservatism - an endorsement of inequality, a view reflected in the Indian caste system, South African apartheid and the conservative, segregationist politics of the late Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-South S.C.).

and yet these professors miss Goldwater's work for desegation in AZ......... sigh

[Intolerant in NJ]

Glaser acknowledged that the team's exclusive assessment of the psychological motivations of political conservatism might be viewed as a partisan exercise. However, he said, there is a host of information available about conservatism, but not about liberalism...this "study" doesn't pass even the first test of a valid scientific effort, and doesn't even try - by making broad assertions that conservatives are "more" or "less" of this or that without having an adequate and representative comparison group to make their evaluations against - and then trying to justify this deficiency by claiming there isn't adequate information available on liberal views (ever hear of the major networks, profs?) - they in fact manage to prove only one thing - that their efforts are indeed no more than a "partisan exercise".....

[Swiss]

They also ignored that Woodrow Wilson was known as a liberal and one of the most racist presidents in our history while Calvin Coolidige was known as a conservative and spoke up for black rights in the Republican tradition of his day.

Segergation was a populist creation, it was used by rabble rousing lower class white politicians such as Huey Long in their battle with the more conservative upper class Planters and land owning elite of the South. Most of the big name Segergationists in the South in the period from the 1890's to the 1950's was near socialists when it came to business and expanding government power.

[nutmeg]

bump to read later

[Monty22]

"* Terror management"

I assume they came up with this one to specifically bash Bush.

The rest of the article is such TRASH that it's just incredible that these people would get a passing grade in even at 'Harlem U', much less from the almighty Berkeley.

[Monty22]

" Hitler, Mussolini, and former President Ronald Reagan were individuals, but all were right-wing conservatives because they preached a return to an idealized past and condoned inequality in some form. Talk host Rush Limbaugh can be described the same way."

I have to comment on this part specifically.

The old 'hitler' comparisons are to be expected on a usenet flamewar, but does it really belong in a college paper?

[Wilhelm Tell]

* Fear and aggression
* Dogmatism and intolerance of ambiguity
* Uncertainty avoidance
* Need for cognitive closure
* Terror management

* Fear and aggression: A lot of leftits positions are based on fear and gloom and doom -- evnironmentalsim, for example. Many leftist movements express themselves violently -- witness the violent anti-globalization riots. The left often uses hysterical class hatred (and sometimes ethnic, racial, and religious hatred).

* Dogmatism and intolerance of ambiguity: One phrase: Political correctness. The left views everything through a gerbled version of Marxism. They stretch Marxism into areas that Marx never thought of and say their theory explains everything.

* Uncertainty avoidance: The left constantly faults the "chaos" and uncertainty of markets. The leftist vision has society being run by a number of "experts" who will make decisions for everybody.

* Need for cognitive closure: Here's a news flash: Al Gore lost the 2000 election. Time to "move on."

* Terror management: The conservative and libertarian approach to fighting terrorism and crime focus on terrorists and criminals. The left strikes out wildly against everyone. Consider the "zero tolerance" paranoia after the terrorism and crime at Columbine. The left often excuses terrorists or criminals and seeks to demonize and disarm the victims of terrorism or crime.

[Wilhelm Tell]

I meant to say: The left views everything through a GARBLED version of Marxism.

[F16Fighter]

[A]n article, "Political Conservatism as Motivated Social Cognition," [was] recently published in the American Psychological Association's Psychological Bulletin.

Let us all bow -- or perhaps kneel at the reeking feet of the Grand Wizards of the 'American Psychological Association' and this absurd "study."

They have as much credibility as the 'American Psychiatric Association' AND UC Berkeley -- that is NONE WHATSOEVER.

[Monty22]

"Then they'll post their revelation on DU or IndyMedia. Spend any time at one of these sites and you're sure to witness one of these 19-year-old-leftist-coming-of-age posts. "

Sadly, some appear to be even slower.. ie Scott Ritter.

[Fred]

"He is a very shallow critic who cannot see an eternal rebel in the heart of a conservative."

GK Chesterton

[wideawake]

This is the exact drivel that was published as "research" 50 years ago in the laughable book The Authoritarian Personality by the Marxist, dictator-worshipping hack Theodor Adorno.

[John Will]

How many leftists are going into degrees that REQUIRE brainpower?. Engineering and Hard science to name a few.

[headsonpikes]

Well, if they're including Stalin as a 'conservative', then I think they're drinking Koolaid.

Purple Koolaid.