power tripping
What Happens When Authoritarians Inherit the Earth? A Simulation (PDF)
Abstract:
Two runs of a futuristic simulation involving introductory psychology students were held on successive nights. On one night, “Earth” was populated entirely by right-wing authoritarian followers; on the second night, a small number of dominating authoritarians were included among a second group of authoritarian followers. With a few notable exceptions (e.g., nuclear war did not break out), the future evolved as anticipated on the two evenings. In general, authoritarians produced dismal futures, beset by unemployment, famine, and disease.
uh…………..whoah. i mean, not unexpected in terms of how our global leaders act, but that average citizens would play out these roles in the same way in a simulation is sort of mind blowing.
the above link is to the paper published in Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, Vol. 3(1) 2003, p 161-169. You can also download the full book The Authoritarians by Bob Altemeyer.
OK, what’s this book about? It’s about what’s happened to the American government lately. It’s about the disastrous decisions that government has made. It’s about the corruption that rotted the Congress. It’s about how traditional conservatism has nearly been destroyed by authoritarianism. It’s about how the “Religious Right” teamed up with amoral authoritarian leaders to push its un-democratic agenda onto the country. It’s about the United States standing at the crossroads as the next federal election approaches.
“Well,” you might be thinking, “I don’t believe any of this is true.” Or maybe you’re thinking, “What else is new? I’ve believed this for years.” Why should a conservative, moderate, or liberal bother with this book? Why should any Republican, Independent, or Democrat click the “Introduction” link on this page?
key themes: top-down mentality, leadership, authoritarian personalities, equality, social domination and submission, conservatism, misanthropy, ethnocentricity, xenophobia, cycles of global war and poverty, game theory
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