Far-Right Fantasy
Far-Right Fantasy is a straightforward, jargon-free study of contemporary American right-wing extremism. Accessible to both professional and lay audiences, it allows activists to speak for themselves in their own words. It takes the self-announced religious motivations of extremists seriously, and illustrates this by citing numerous cases of radical politics. The book addresses the strengths and weaknesses of the standard psycho-socio-cultural explanations of far-right activism. It shows how extremists are similar educationally and psychologically to their more conventional neighbors; that they get into the movement in the same way that others become peace activists or radical environmentalists, namely, through their ties with fellow workers and churchgoers, family members, and classmates; and that their views are given a patina of certainty by being repeatedly corroborated within closed, noncontaminated communication systems.
The book avoids being preachy or judgmental, but it does try to challenge readers morally by submitting far-right fantasy to a formal ideological critique. It does this by showing how the reforms it recommendsa marketplace free of regulation; draconian immigration restrictions; an end to the federal reserve bank and the income tax; a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution; antiunion right-to-work laws and a return to debt slavery; the privatization of schools, the post office, and the commons; and so oncontradict its ostensible goal, which is to protect and enhance middle-class interests. Far-Right Fantasy is suitable for adoption as a supplemental text in political psychology and sociology, sociologies of religion and knowledge, collective behavior, and American political history.
James Aho is Professor Emeritus at Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho.
Aho revisits the dark world of right-wing extremist Christian Patriots, and readers benefit from his deep acquaintance with this movement, which he analyzes with penetrating sociological insights. Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of his account is the evidence he musters to indicate how the worldview of these far-right fantasists has percolated into mainstream conservatism.
Peter Kivisto, Richard A. Swanson Professor of Social Thought, Augustana College Research Fellow, University of Trento
Ahos study of the right-wing fantasies of Christain Patriots and white supremicists is grounded in a lifetimes study of sociological methods, religious history, and first-hand encounters with extremists in his own home state of Idaho. As he dispels simple-minded explanations of these outliers on the American scene, he also offers us a deeper understanding of their ideologies and convictions. A delightful read as well as a profoundly informative work of scholarship.
Charles Guignon, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of South Florida and author of On Being Authentic
Authoritatively written and masterfully analyzed, this penetrating study journeys into the dark world of Americas Christian extremists and their dangerous political fantasies. It is as gripping as it is unsettlinga must read.
Mark Juergensmeyer, author of Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence
Far-Right Fantasy
A Sociology of American Religion and Politics
James Aho
First published 2016
by Routledge
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and by Routledge
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2016 James Aho
The right of James Aho to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Aho, James Alfred, 1942
Far-right fantasy : a sociology of American religion and politics / James Aho.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Right-wing extremists--United States. 2. Religion and politics--United States. 3. United States--Politics and government. I. Title.
HN90.R3A654 2016
303.4840973dc23
2015023540
ISBN: 978-1-138-96241-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-96242-2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-65944-2 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by HWA Text and Data Management, London
I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.
(Psalms 139:22)
Contents
Were it not for the technical support, material resources, and encouragement of my colleagues at Idaho State University (ISU), most notably Gesine Hearn, Chair of the Department of Sociology, Social Work, and Criminal Justice, this book would never have been completed. For over four decades, ISU has given me the opportunity to indulge my whimsies; I hope what I have written here does not betray its trust.
Dean Birkenkamp is that rare editor who takes a personal interest in his authors, dispensing needed advice, good cheer, and timely responses to my manuscript drafts. I am thankful for having had the chance to work with him on this project.
I owe my three sonsKen, Kevin, and Kylegratitude for exemplifying what it means to be a professional academician and artist. Their plodding devotion to their respective callingsbiology, philosophy, and musichas been a constant source of inspiration and wonder.
Margaret Aho has been my personal in-house editor, critic, fellow intellectual adventurer, and loving companion for longer than even my stay at ISU. This book is inconceivable without her presence in my life, and is dedicated to her.
Large parts of previously appeared in print as Christian Heroism and the Reconstruction of America in Critical Sociology, 39 (4): 34560.
Cliven Bundy, a grizzled Mormon rancher, is said to have fifty-seven grand- and great-grandchildren. His family has grazed cattle on 600,000 acres of yucca- and mesquite-dotted desert near Bunkerville, Nevada, since 1877. In April 2014, federal agents rounded up Bundys livestock for allegedly trespassing on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) property. During the ensuing scuffle, one of his sons was bloodied by a Taser gun, and a daughter was knocked to the ground.
Sensing a good story, Fox TV inflamed the situation by portraying Bundy as a martyr for freedom and liberty and theorized that the cattle seizure was part of Agenda 21, a United Nations environmental conspiracy. Others on the far-right gossiped that Nevada Senator Harry Reid had orchestrated the BLM roundup so that a Chinese company he was invested in could build a solar power plant on the land and, still others, that Reid was trying to help a Canadian company access the land for a gold mine. Neither story was true (for a history of the dispute, see Fuller, 2014).
