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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue
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 Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 8:13 am Post subject: American Theocracy |
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This book is by Kevin Phillips, the former GOP strategist during the Nixon years. The title sounds rather hyperbolic, like something you would hear from some pseudo-Chomskyites huddling around the water bong. However, I gather from the bit I've read so far that he's not talking about the establishment of a literal theocracy in the USA, but rather the supposedly growing influence of religion in American politics.
I've always been somewhat skeptical of the idea that the Religious Right absolutely dominates American politics; it seems to me that they've pretty much been treading water since the Reagan years. However, Phillips is a guy who was deeply involved in Republic politics at a fairly high level, so I'm willing to read him with a more open mind than usual. Plus, interesting political books in English are pretty rare in Gwangju.
From Wikipedia...
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In 1982, the Wall Street Journal described him as �the leading conservative electoral analyst -- the man who invented the Sun Belt, named the New Right, and prophesied �The Emerging Republican Majority� in 1969.�
Ironically for someone who in later life became a virulent critic of Republicans from the south and west, Phillips in his 1969 book identified the "Heartland" as the future core of Republican votes, and the "Yankee Northeast" as the future Democratic stronghold, foreshadowing the current split between Red States and Blue States. More than 30 years before the 2004 election, Phillips foresaw such previously Democratic states as Texas and West Virginia swinging to the Republicans while Vermont and Maine would become Democratic states. The rise of such partisan leaders as Howard Dean; John Kerry and Ned Lamont for the Democrats and religious conservatives in the Republican ranks would have come as no surprise.
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I'd be curious to know if anyone has read American Theocracy, and what their thoughts are. I'm only on the first part, which discusses the growth of the oil industry and its influence on politics. Interesting, but it's hard shake the lingering suspicion that Phillips is giving a somewhat loaded presentation of the story. He seems to take peak oil theory at face value, for example, without much argument. |
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Mosley
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 5:04 am Post subject: |
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I've just heard of this book now but...I wouldn't disagree w/you that the Relig. Right is on the wane. I might argue that since the late '70s there has been a palpable tension between the "economic-libertarian" ethos of the so-called(new) right in America, manifested in practical terms in the GOP, and the rigid social conservatism of the Rel.Right. Certainly, the first Reagan victory owed a debt to the RR but since then a good many GOPers have been either grudgingly tolerant, mildly embarrassed or even overtly hostile to the RR. The sex/corruption scandals of the last 2 decades haven't helped.
Of course, tensions/contradictions are not the sole preserve of the "right". The centre-left in mainstream U.S. politics has its fair share. Consider that within the Democrats you'll find social libertarians(e.g. gay marriage is not only fine, but desirable) rubbing shoulders w/statist-collectivists( "affirmative action may hurt individuals but it's for a greater societal good"). |
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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue
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| Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 6:42 am Post subject: |
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Mosley is posting.
Wow.
And I mean that in the most delighted way possible.
Welcome back, Moz. You were missed. |
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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue
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| Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 7:00 am Post subject: |
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Back on topic...
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| Consider that within the Democrats you'll find social libertarians(e.g. gay marriage is not only fine, but desirable) rubbing shoulders w/statist-collectivists( "affirmative action may hurt individuals but it's for a greater societal good"). |
Yeah, there's been some buzz on the blogs about the Democrats perhaps being the new home of libertarians, what with the interventionist religious right supposedly calling the shots in the GOP. Not sure what to make of this, I think it would depend on whether you think the GOP is more socially "statist"(to borrow libertarian terminology) than the Democrats are economically statist.
At one time, I think a Libertarian-RR alliance could have worked. The Libertarians could say: "look, we're not gonna lock up homosexuals and atheists, but we're also not gonna lock you up for disliking homosexuals, and we're not gonna force your kids to listen to anti-Christian propagnada in the schools. That's all social engineering, and we're as against it as you are."
But I think things changed a bit with the gay marriage issue. I'm guessing that a lot of libertarians supported that, since it doesn't involve forcing opinions or activities on anyone, and can hardly be construed as social engineering. So the Libertarians and the RR were probably on the opposite side of the issue. There might be a chance of rapproachment in Canada, where same-sex marriage seems to be a dead issue, and the Libertarians can claim that that there is no point in oursuing it anyway, so the RR might as well just hook up with the only people who are promising limited government. |
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igotthisguitar
Joined: 08 Apr 2003
Location: South Korea (Permanent Vacation)
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| Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 9:25 pm Post subject: |
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Hmmmmmmmm ... trust Wikipedia.
MY sense is something is missing here. Important part of the "picture" this article has yet to share 
Dominion-ism is a trend in Protestant Christian evangelicalism and fundamentalism, primarily, though not exclusively, in the United States, that seeks to establish specific political policies based on religious beliefs.
It is most often used to describe politically active conservative "Christians" with a specific agenda. The term is rarely used as a self-description; many feel it is a loaded or pejorative term, and use of the term is primarily limited to critics of the Christian Right.
The term emerged in relation to the Christian Right in the mid-1990s, but became more widely known due in large part to the U.S. presidential election, 2004 where the media attributed Republican wins to Evangelical voters in Red states who voted for moral values.[1] A number of authors, among them Andrew Sullivan, use the terms Christianism or Christianist in place of Dominionism in an attempt to "take back the word Christian (from) the religious right."[2]
CONT'D ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominionism
CITY OF GOD
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=dominionism+
Check out what the Collins Bros. have to say on Dominion-ism
Plenty of AUDIO files to be found.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=dominionism+collins+ |
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