Audiobook3 hours
Extremism
Written by J. M. Berger
Narrated by Matthew Josdal
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this audiobook
A rising tide of extremist movements threaten to destabilize civil societies around the globe. It has never been more important to understand extremism, yet the dictionary definition-a logical starting point in a search for understanding-tells us only that extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme." In this volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, J. M. Berger offers a nuanced introduction to extremist movements, explaining what extremism is, how extremist ideologies are constructed, and why extremism can escalate into violence.
Berger, an expert on extremist movements and terrorism, explains that extremism arises from a perception of "us versus them," intensified by the conviction that the success of "us" is inseparable from hostile acts against "them." Extremism differs from ordinary unpleasantness-run-of-the-mill hatred and racism-by its sweeping rationalization of an insistence on violence. Berger illustrates his argument with case studies and examples from around the world and throughout history, from the destruction of Carthage by the Romans-often called "the first genocide"-to the apocalyptic jihadism of Al Qaeda, America's new "alt-right," and the anti-Semitic conspiracy tract The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
Berger, an expert on extremist movements and terrorism, explains that extremism arises from a perception of "us versus them," intensified by the conviction that the success of "us" is inseparable from hostile acts against "them." Extremism differs from ordinary unpleasantness-run-of-the-mill hatred and racism-by its sweeping rationalization of an insistence on violence. Berger illustrates his argument with case studies and examples from around the world and throughout history, from the destruction of Carthage by the Romans-often called "the first genocide"-to the apocalyptic jihadism of Al Qaeda, America's new "alt-right," and the anti-Semitic conspiracy tract The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
Author
J. M. Berger
J. M. Berger is a nonresident fellow with the Brookings Institution and the author of Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam, a critically acclaimed history of the American jihadist movement. He is a regular contributor to Foreign Policy magazine and his website, Intelwire.com, has published thousands of declassified documents on the September 11 attacks and the Oklahoma City bombing.
Related to Extremism
Related audiobooks
How Propaganda Works Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Less Than Human: Why We Demean, Enslave, and Exterminate Others Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Why Nationalism Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Ideas That Made America: A Brief History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Spreading Hate: The Global Rise of White Supremacist Terrorism Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmerican Zealots: Inside Right-Wing Domestic Terrorism Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Age of American Unreason Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alt-America: The Rise of the Radical Right in the Age of Trump Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Knowing the Enemy: Jihadist Ideology and the War on Terror Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lost History of Liberalism: From Ancient Rome to the Twenty-First Century Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Racism: A Very Short Introduction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Fascism: 12 Lessons from American History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Network Propaganda: Manipulation, Disinformation, and Radicalization in American Politics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kill All Normies: Online Culture Wars From 4Chan And Tumblr To Trump And The Alt-Right Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Critical Theory of Police Power: The Fabrication of the Social Order Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Savage Order: How the World's Deadliest Countries Can Forge a Path to Security Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Why You Should Be a Socialist Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Misinformation Age: How False Beliefs Spread Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Polarization: What Everyone Needs to Know Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Counterrevolution: How Our Government Went to War Against Its Own Citizens Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Self-Tracking Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDemocracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Ideas Industry: How Pessimists, Partisans, and Plutocrats are Transforming the Marketplace of Ideas Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Citizenship Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Fascism: A Very Short Introduction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Populism: A Very Short Introduction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Political Ideologies For You
The Vision of the Anointed: Self-congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5While Time Remains: A North Korean Girl's Search for Freedom in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Blackout: How Black America Can Make Its Second Escape from the Democrat Plantation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Democrat Party Hates America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You Will Own Nothing: Your War with a New Financial World Order and How to Fight Back Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Unhinged America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Recessional: The Death of Free Speech and the Cost of a Free Lunch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The MAGA Diaries: My Surreal Adventures Inside the Right-Wing (And How I Got Out) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Capitalist Punishment: How Wall Street Is Using Your Money to Create a Country You Didn't Vote For Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fascism: A Warning Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jewish Space Lasers: The Rothschilds and 200 Years of Conspiracy Theories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Is Reality Optional?: And Other Essays Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5America's Cultural Revolution: How the Radical Left Conquered Everything Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Communist Manifesto (Unabridged) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hate Inc.: Why Today's Media Makes Us Despise One Another Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Marriage Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Anti-Communist Manifesto Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Emergent Strategy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ship of Fools: How a Selfish Ruling Class Is Bringing America to the Brink of Revolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Marxism Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Long Slide: Thirty Years in American Journalism Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unwoke: How to Defeat Cultural Marxism in America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Extremism
Rating: 4.166666666666667 out of 5 stars
4/5
15 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Short book attempting to define extremism, give a bit of history, and explain what extremists do. Extremism in this book is defined as the belief that an in-group’s success or survival can never be separated from the need for hostile action against an out-group. Of course, the concepts of in-groups and out-groups are gone into a lot. A little attention was given to the psychology of it all, but not nearly enough. Even though huge masses of people suffer in all sorts of ways only a few become extremists. Why? That’s what I’d like to know more about.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This short book is exactly what I hoped it would be: a brief overview, some theory to move understanding beyond definition by example, some discussion of current thinking and issues, and a curated list of sources for further reading. I particularly appreciate the effort put into definitions and theoretical framing, which propose a path for moving beyond reflexive thinking about current threats.Of course a book this small isn't comprehensive or the last word on anything. That's not its purpose. It is, however, an excellent starting point and shortcut to understanding a few key issues whose misunderstanding is at the root of many failed initiatives.