The Authoritarian Moment: How the Left Weaponized America's Institutions Against Dissent

Written by Ben Shapiro

Narrated by Ben Shapiro

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Jul 27, 2021
• ISBN: 9780063001855

Ben Shapiro

Ben Shapiro is founding editor-in-chief and editor emeritus of The Daily Wire and host of "The Ben Shapiro Show," the top conservative podcast in the nation. A New York Times bestselling author, Shapiro is a graduate of Harvard Law School, and an Orthodox Jew. His work has been profiled in nearly every major American publication, and he has appeared as the featured speaker at many conservative events on campuses nationwide, several of those appearances targeted by progressive and “Antifa” activists.

Reviews for The Authoritarian Moment

[keith · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great book. Although it is somewhat depressing. I still highly recommend it.

[Bee Bee · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Finally a book that uses logic and isn't fuelled by hatred.

[Ryan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fantastic listen. I loved it. Keep the books coming.

[Pete Ortiz · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This 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.

[Sarah Vollmer · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Great for people who like anti left wing propaganda. Cheers

[Renee Spillette · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This is the dumbest book I have ever read
Period

[Melissa Haneline · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Ben'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.

[Dan · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Ben is a terrible writer with ideas which crumble to a gentle breeze or a casual Google.

[Jangyub Kim · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Good Thank you I was looking forward to this book. :))

[Jason Touchatt · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Outstanding 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.

[Greg Gats · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Good 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.

[MacIver Lantz · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Why this horse shit excuse for a book was in the philosophy section I'll never know.

[Alex Snow · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Astute 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.

[Tommy Akroma · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you listen to his daily podcast then all of this is just a refresher nonetheless accurate.

[Andrew Wells · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Ben 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.

[Tiare · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Let the truth be known and heard. Now Act we must!

[Anna Kristina · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I 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.

[tuckerresearch · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another good Shapiro effort, showing how the left has gone crazy since 2000: moving from live and let live liberals with some social progressivism to authoritarian "you either do what we say or you're a bigot."