The Paranoid Style in American Politics

[jingofever]

<!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.writely.com/Doc.aspx?id=a4w3qmhgdwb_afkmwgpz7nw2">This</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> is an article written by Richard Hofstadter for Harper's Magazine in 1964. Most likely it will annoy some of you but you probably will still find it interesting. It certainly is relevant today, moreso actually as the creation and speed of conspiracy theories has grown considerably. You may find as I did that it presents a sort of view from the outside looking in. Or maybe you will think it is a load of crap without a single profound thought in sight. <p></p><i></i>

[JerkyLeBoeuf]

It's a classic (with caveats), as is the book he spun out of it. This one, as well as Hoff's "Anti-Intellectualism in American Life", SHOULD be read by all of us, to keep our thinking straight -- unlike the article QTUB recently linked to, which was egomaniacal, myopic, niggling, poorly thought-out hipster bullshit.<br><br>Two more we should all read: "The True Believer" by Eric Hoffer and "Extraordinary Popular Delusions And The Madness Of Crowds" by Charles MacKay (available online).<br><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.litrix.com/madraven/madne001.htm">www.litrix.com/madraven/madne001.htm</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br> <p></p><i></i>