# Are there any good authors, books or articles discussing the rise of right wing populism **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 27, 2016, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-authors-books-or-articles-discussing-the-rise-of-right-wing-populism/773154 "2016-11-27T14:45:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-authors-books-or-articles-discussing-the-rise-of-right-wing-populism/773154/1 "2016-11-27T14:45:45Z")
I’m under the impression there are multiple factors behind the rise of right wing populism in the west (not just America). [ul] [li]Economic insecurity due to globalization[/li][li]Anger over rapid social progress (non-whites, women, gays, non-christians etc being admitted to the upper echelons of society)[/li][li]Fear of immigrants and ‘the other’, and fear that they will bring crime and non-western values with them[/li][/ul] But that is just my impression. Has anyone written about the rise of right wing authoritarianism and right wing populism, and has anyone figured out an effective way to counteract it? It seems to be a growing issue all in western and eastern europe as well as north america. My fear is that RWA (right wing authoritarianism) populism will just usher in an age of plutocracy. The rich and libertarians will play on people’s desires for security and cultural purity, and just use that to privatize their health systems, cut wages, increase income inequality, cut corporate regulations, etc. The right has been doing that successfully here in America for decades. Not just that, but I’m sure it’ll empower the worst aspects of culture (people brutalizing peaceful muslims, which will just make relations between christians and muslims worse). Has anyone written fluently on its rise, or found ways to counteract it, or maybe triangulate to meet enough demands of people who would normally turn to RWA populism to keep them from going down that road? ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-authors-books-or-articles-discussing-the-rise-of-right-wing-populism/773154/2 "2016-11-27T15:18:24Z")
Rick Perlstein has written a multivolume history on the rise of the conservative movement in America. The latest installment, “The Invisible Bridge,” about the ascent of Reagan, came out two years ago. I just finished reading it myself. Even though the two had wildly different personalities and employed different tactics, it was interesting to see some of parallels between the rise of Reagan and the rise of Trump. They both had a reputation for playing fast and loose with the facts and not giving a shit when called on it. They both had a penchant for making statements and gaffes that would sink most other candidates. They were both treated as jokes when they started making noise about running for president. Anyway, it’s a good place to start if you want to begin understanding how a guy like Trump managed to gain so much traction. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-authors-books-or-articles-discussing-the-rise-of-right-wing-populism/773154/3 "2016-11-27T16:26:35Z")
Wait about 2 months and there will be hundreds out there. Every political journalist and his dog is working against a deadline on such a book right now. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-authors-books-or-articles-discussing-the-rise-of-right-wing-populism/773154/4 "2016-11-27T16:54:56Z")
There was that bright young Austrian lad, veteran and patriot. Terrific dancer. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-authors-books-or-articles-discussing-the-rise-of-right-wing-populism/773154/5 "2016-11-27T17:43:40Z")
Andrew Sullivan touches on some of those issues in this recent article. > **[The Republic Repeals Itself](https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2016/11/andrew-sullivan-president-trump-and-the-end-of-the-republic.html)** > > A country designed to resist tyranny has now embraced it. ---
**Author:** ![aag3981](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/53a042/32.png) [@aag3981](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aag3981)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-authors-books-or-articles-discussing-the-rise-of-right-wing-populism/773154/6 "2016-11-27T18:45:11Z")
There are several. > **[6 Books to Help Understand Trump’s Win (Published 2016)](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/10/books/6-books-to-help-understand-trumps-win.html)** > > Our critics and reviewers on books that analyze the shifts that drove one of the most stunning political upsets in the nation’s history. Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-authors-books-or-articles-discussing-the-rise-of-right-wing-populism/773154/7 "2016-11-27T22:35:45Z")
Why don’t you start by reading something like Pat Buchanan’s “A Republic, Not an Empire.” ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-authors-books-or-articles-discussing-the-rise-of-right-wing-populism/773154/8 "2016-11-28T04:51:43Z")
[Hillary Clinton And The Populist Revolt](http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/31/hillary-clinton-and-the-populist-revolt) by George Packer. He also wrote a book on a similar topic in 2013 called [The Unwinding](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ANI9GIQ/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1). The tag line for the article is: _The Democrats lost the white working class. The Republicans exploited it. Can Clinton win it back?_ And I guess now we know the answer is no.