About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherVerso Books

ISBN-101788736966

ISBN-139781788736961

eBay Product ID (ePID)2309437813

Product Key Features

Book TitleProphets of Deceit : a Study of the Techniques of the American Agitator

Number of Pages224 Pages

LanguageEnglish

Publication Year2021

TopicPolitical Ideologies / Communism, Post-Communism & Socialism, History & Theory, General, Commentary & Opinion

GenrePolitical Science

AuthorNorbert Guterman, Leo Lowenthal

FormatTrade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height0.6 in

Item Weight7.6 Oz

Item Length8.3 in

Item Width5.5 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

LCCN2021-276361

Dewey Edition23

Dewey Decimal303.3/750973

SynopsisHow authoritarian and racist discourse functions A classic book that analyzes and defines media appeals specific to American pro-fascist and anti-Semite agitators of the 1940s, such as the application of psychosocial manipulation for political ends. The book details psychological deceits that idealogues or authoritarians commonly used. The techniques are grouped under the headings "Discontent", "The Opponent", "The Movement" and "The Leader". The authors demonstrate repetitive patterns commonly utilized, such as turning unfocused social discontent towards a targeted enemy. The agitator positions himself as a unifying presence: he is the ideal, the only leader capable of freeing his audience from the perceived enemy. Yet, as the authors demonstrate, he is a shallow person who creates social or racial disharmony, thereby reinforcing that his leadership is needed. The authors believed fascist tendencies in America were at an early stage in the 1940s, but warned a time might come when Americans could and would be "susceptible to ... [the] psychological manipulation" of a rabble rouser. A book once again relevant in the Trump era, as made clear by Alberto Toscano's new introduction., In the 1940s, the authors of this groundbreaking work, an extension of the Frankfurt School's studies of the authoritarian personality, warned that a time might come when Americans would fall prey to the psychological manipulation of a rabble rouser. In the era of Trump and a rising right-wing populism, this illuminating book is horrifyingly timely once again. Prophets of Deceit delves into the rise of populism in the twentieth century. It examines the psychological deceptions employed by ideologues, exploring key concepts of their rhetoric and propaganda. It shows, in particular, the formation of the agitator, who positions himself as a unifying presence: the only leader capable of freeing his audience from the perceived enemy. Yet, as the authors demonstrate, he is an individual of limited intellect responsible for creating the very social or racial disharmony he claims to resolve. Book jacket.

LC Classification NumberJC480