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At War with Government : How Conservatives Weaponized Distrust from Goldwater to Trump / Douglas B. Harris, Amy Fried.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York, NY : Columbia University Press, [2021]Copyright date: ©2021Description: 1 online resourceContent type:
Media type:
Carrier type:
ISBN:
  • 9780231551243
Subject(s): LOC classification:
  • JA75.7
Other classification:
  • online - DeGruyter
Online resources:
Contents:
Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Chapter One. Weaponizing Distrust -- Chapter Two. Trust and Distrust in American Political Development -- Chapter Three. Here to Help? Movement Conservatism and the State in the Reagan Era -- Chapter Four. A Revolution Against Government? The Promotion of Distrust in the Clinton Era -- Chapter Five. “We’re All Mad Here”: The Tea Party and the Obama Era -- Chapter Six. “Punch Government in the Face”: Anger in the Trump Era -- Chapter Seven. Making Peace with Government -- Afterword -- Notes -- Index
Summary: Polling shows that since the 1950s Americans’ trust in government has fallen dramatically to historically low levels. In At War with Government, the political scientists Amy Fried and Douglas B. Harris reveal that this trend is no accident. Although distrust of authority is deeply rooted in American culture, it is fueled by conservative elites who benefit from it. Since the postwar era conservative leaders have deliberately and strategically undermined faith in the political system for partisan aims.Fried and Harris detail how conservatives have sown distrust to build organizations, win elections, shift power toward institutions that they control, and secure policy victories. They trace this strategy from the Nixon and Reagan years through Gingrich’s Contract with America, the Tea Party, and Donald Trump’s rise and presidency. Conservatives have promoted a political identity opposed to domestic state action, used racial messages to undermine unity, and cultivated cynicism to build and bolster coalitions. Once in power, they have defunded public services unless they help their constituencies and rolled back regulations, perversely proving the failure of government. Fried and Harris draw on archival sources to document how conservative elites have strategized behind the scenes. With a powerful diagnosis of our polarized era, At War with Government also proposes how we might rebuild trust in government by countering the strategies conservatives have used to weaken it.
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number URL Status Notes Barcode
eBook eBook Biblioteca "Angelicum" Pont. Univ. S.Tommaso d'Aquino Nuvola online online - DeGruyter (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Online access Not for loan (Accesso limitato) Accesso per gli utenti autorizzati / Access for authorized users (dgr)9780231551243

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Chapter One. Weaponizing Distrust -- Chapter Two. Trust and Distrust in American Political Development -- Chapter Three. Here to Help? Movement Conservatism and the State in the Reagan Era -- Chapter Four. A Revolution Against Government? The Promotion of Distrust in the Clinton Era -- Chapter Five. “We’re All Mad Here”: The Tea Party and the Obama Era -- Chapter Six. “Punch Government in the Face”: Anger in the Trump Era -- Chapter Seven. Making Peace with Government -- Afterword -- Notes -- Index

restricted access online access with authorization star

http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec

Polling shows that since the 1950s Americans’ trust in government has fallen dramatically to historically low levels. In At War with Government, the political scientists Amy Fried and Douglas B. Harris reveal that this trend is no accident. Although distrust of authority is deeply rooted in American culture, it is fueled by conservative elites who benefit from it. Since the postwar era conservative leaders have deliberately and strategically undermined faith in the political system for partisan aims.Fried and Harris detail how conservatives have sown distrust to build organizations, win elections, shift power toward institutions that they control, and secure policy victories. They trace this strategy from the Nixon and Reagan years through Gingrich’s Contract with America, the Tea Party, and Donald Trump’s rise and presidency. Conservatives have promoted a political identity opposed to domestic state action, used racial messages to undermine unity, and cultivated cynicism to build and bolster coalitions. Once in power, they have defunded public services unless they help their constituencies and rolled back regulations, perversely proving the failure of government. Fried and Harris draw on archival sources to document how conservative elites have strategized behind the scenes. With a powerful diagnosis of our polarized era, At War with Government also proposes how we might rebuild trust in government by countering the strategies conservatives have used to weaken it.

Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.

In English.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 01. Dez 2022)