Richard Hofstadter has published a series of essays on the Radical Right entitled The Paranoid Style in American Politics (Knopf). The Manichaeans were dualist, reducing all distinctions to the cosmic struggle between two rival powers: Good and Evil, Spirit and Matter, the Kingdom of Light and the Kingdom of Darkness. May suggests that Hofstadter is actually discussing the “Manichaean” style of our politics since the metaphysical and moral presuppostions of the Radical Right are Manichaean to the core. William May reviews Richard Hofstadter’s published series of essays on the Radical Right entitled The Paranoid Style in American Politics (Knopf). This article was prepared for Religion Online by Ted & Winnie Brock. This article appeared in the Journal Christianity and Crisis, May 2, 1966. The author accepts sole responsibility for the views expressed. The opinions expressed do not, however, purport to represent the positions of the Clinton administration, the task force or the ethics advisory group. This essay draws on some language and ideas generated by the author and others in the advisory work group on ethics for the White House task force on health care reform. Maguire Professor of Ethics at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |