Animated by Anomie 0

Vinay Orekondy offers an interesting take on the rise of authoritarianism, not just in the U. S., but across the globe. He argues that, in a time of globalization and weakening community,

The authoritarian impulse is, at its heart, an expression of desire for community, and the adoption of whatever communities are immediately available.

To put it another way, it’s antisocial behavior animated by anomie, a concept which I first encountered in the writings of Emile Durkheim.

I think Orekondy’s point is worth considering.

Authoritarianism does seem to foster a perverted sense of community for those on the inside, one that appeals to persons’ darkest impulses and one fed by demonizing “the other” (whoever the most convenient “other” may be). His theory may shed some light on how persons can do evil (like, for example, driving a car into a group of peaceful protestors) while telling themselves that they are somehow on the side of truth, justice, and virtue.

Yes, they may have found themselves a community, but it is a community of toxin that poisons the larger polity from within.

(Speaking of Durkheim, if you have not read The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, do so.)