The Authoritarian Moment: How the Left Weaponized America's Institutions Against Dissent
Written by Ben Shapiro
Narrated by Ben Shapiro
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About this audiobook
New York Times Bestseller
How far are Americans willing to go to force each other to fall in line?
According to the establishment media, the intelligentsia, and our political chattering class, the greatest threat to American freedom lies in right-wing authoritarianism. We’ve heard that some 75 million Americans who voted for Donald Trump represent the rise of American fascism; that conservatives have allowed authoritarianism to bloom in their midst, creating a grave danger for the republic.
But what if the true authoritarian threat to America doesn’t come from the political right, but from the supposedly anti-fascist left?
There are certainly totalitarians on the political right. But statistically, they represent a fringe movement with little institutional clout. The authoritarian left, meanwhile, is ascendant in nearly every area of American life. A small number of leftists—college-educated, coastal, and uncompromising—have not just taken over the Democratic Party but our corporations, our universities, our scientific establishment, our cultural institutions. And they have used their newfound power to silence their opposition.
The authoritarian Left is aggressively insistent that everyone must conform to its values, demanding submission and conformity. The dogmatic Left is obsessed with putting people in categories and changing human nature. Everyone who opposes it must be destroyed.
Ben Shapiro looks at everything from pop culture to the Frankfurt school, social media to the Founding Fathers, to explain the origins of our turn to tyranny, and why so many seem blind to it.
More than a catalog of bad actors and intemperate acts, The Authoritarian Moment lays bare the intolerance and rigidity creeping into all American ideology – and prescribes the solution to ending the authoritarianism that threatens our future.
Ben Shapiro
Benjamin Shapiro entered UCLA at the age of sixteen and graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in June 2004 with a BA in political science. He graduated Harvard Law School cum laude in June 2007. The author of the national bestsellers, Brainwashed: How Universities Indoctrinate America’s Youth, Porn Generation: How Social Liberalism Is Corrupting Our Future, and Project President: Bad Hair and Botox on the Road to the White House, Shapiro has appeared on hundreds of radio and TV shows around the nation. He is married and currently runs Benjamin Shapiro Legal Consulting, based in Los Angeles. He is editor-at-large of Breitbart.com.
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Reviews for The Authoritarian Moment
148 ratings17 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great book. Although it is somewhat depressing. I still highly recommend it.
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ben's take on how we arrived here and what we should do about it was very encouraging. Too many authors of late diagnose the problem, but then give no hope. Not so with Ben.
P.S. I listened to a good portion of it while riding my exercise bike... I discovered I can't ride as fast as he can talk.2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Good Thank you I was looking forward to this book. :))
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Outstanding book! Every American needs to listen to this. Shapiro gives a masterclass on the American Establishment Media and the leftist movement that threatens our liberty. A must trad for every person who values freedom over authoritarian rule.
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Good summarisation of the recent ever-increasing wokeness and the authoritarian traits it brings along with it. Not a whole lot of new information here for someone who's already been following these trends, but still a great read/listen.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Astute analysis of the current situation. What Ben did well here is what conservatives fail to do so often: he gave solutions to the problems. Conservatives are so often living in the clouds, muttering abstractions about their philosophy. What they fail to do is unite under a common cause and mobilize against their enemies, a skill that the left, being much more collectivistic than individualistic, exercises with precision. The tips Ben gives on how to fight back were certainly lacking. He could have expanded much more and given his readers a much more specific call to action. He, like many of his colleagues, may be too individualistic for their own good.
This book didn't tell me too much that I did not already know, but it contextualized and explained our current political situation in a precise manner. Good read. Good analysis. Useful info. I'll give you a 5-star review once you muster the courage to call your followers to action. You're a cultural leader Ben. Use your power.1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5If you listen to his daily podcast then all of this is just a refresher nonetheless accurate.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ben Shapiro shows that we don't have to be Trump lovers to fight against the woke authoritarians. We may laugh at the woke crowd now, but they are taking over in education, journalism, big business, and government. If we don't fight back, soon they will silence free speech, freedom of association, religious freedom, and more.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Let the truth be known and heard. Now Act we must!
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I am a moderate democrat and I despise wokeness and believe the US needs a new political movement that represents the middle way of reason. I found this book brilliant and refreshing - helped me to appreciate a perspective that represents a sector of the population whose thinking I’m less familiar with.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Finally a book that uses logic and isn't fuelled by hatred.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fantastic listen. I loved it. Keep the books coming.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5This guy is nothing but a Trump hater that spent 4 years trashing the president everyday. In this book he blames Trump for losing The Georgia senate by using the adjective Trump asinine interference with no mention of Biden offering $2,000 and McConnell refusing or the rule changes that allowed the Democrats to cheat.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Great for people who like anti left wing propaganda. Cheers
3 people found this helpful
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5This is the dumbest book I have ever read
Period1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Ben is a terrible writer with ideas which crumble to a gentle breeze or a casual Google.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Why this horse shit excuse for a book was in the philosophy section I'll never know.