Many of Donald Trump鈥檚 supporters share a view of the world as a chaotic, threatening place that is changing too rapidly, says a political scientist at Vanderbilt University, and this authoritarian outlook may be what鈥檚 drawing them to the strong rhetoric of Trump.
In this political context, authoritarianism is a psychological profile where people desire order and fear outsiders. Vanderbilt Professor of Political Science says Trump鈥檚 rhetoric is hitting right on target with these those with that personality trait.
鈥淭rump suggests we live in this chaotic world and we need to make America great again,鈥� says Hetherington. 鈥淚f ISIS is a threat, he鈥檚 going to knock the hell out of them and he鈥檚 going to kill their leader鈥檚 parents and children. If people are concerned about outsiders, he鈥檚 going to build a wall.鈥�
Measuring your level of authoritarianism
鈥淎uthoritarian鈥� means something very specific the way Hetherington is using it. It is not about authoritarian leaders. The concept is designed to measure which people might find such a leader attractive. It is measured in an odd, but interesting way, namely asking people to answer a series of questions what characteristics they, as parents, would want their children to have.
Some of the questions are:
- Would you rather your children be independent or respect their elders?
- Would you rather your children be obedient or self-reliant?
- Would you rather your children be curious or have good manners?
Authoritarians choose for their children qualities like respect for their elders, obedience and having good manners under those conditions.
鈥淎s crazy as it sounds, these parenting questions seem to work well in identifying people who are more authoritarian,鈥� Hetherington says. 鈥淸rquote]The answers to these questions are highly predictive of whether people support torture, oppose gay rights, have negative attitudes about racial and ethnic minorities, and a range of other political relevant topics.鈥漑/rquote]
Hetherington introduced the concept with Jonathan Weiler in 2009 in their book (Cambridge University Press).
Authoritarianism and the GOP
Republicans cornered the market on the authoritarian vote decades ago, Hetherington says.
鈥淚t starts way back when Republicans for decades had been getting their brains beaten out from the (Franklin) Roosevelt years and then again very spectacularly in the (Lyndon) Johnson versus (Barry) Goldwater election in 1964. When you are a losing party, what you do is start to look for new issues that will make you a winning party.鈥�
Issue of race
The issue Republicans found, Hethertington says, was race.
鈥淩eally, over the course of many decades, Republicans have been talking in various ways 鈥� either explicitly or implicitly 鈥� about race,鈥� he says.
Over the years issues such as feminism (against), gay rights (against) and safety from terrorists (in favor of) have been added to the Republican mix. Add some stress from economic woes in the not-so-distant past and you get a whole lot of people frightened by the changes going on in the United States, Hetherington says.
History repeating itself
Trump鈥檚 popularity as the frontrunner in the Republican presidential primary race has much in common with the presidential bid of George Wallace in 1968 and Sen. Joseph McCarthy鈥檚 鈥淩ed Scare鈥� hunt for Communists in the 1950s, says Hetherington.
Wallace, McCarthy and Trump all have or had an appeal to people with an 鈥渁uthoritarian鈥� view of the world, according to Hetherington. Wallace resisted the civil rights movement when he famously called for 鈥淪egregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever鈥� when he was sworn in as the governor of Alabama in 1963, while McCarthy traded on the fear of Communist infiltrators to ruin others while promoting his own career in the 1950s.
鈥淥ne thing that is important to keep in mind is that people who score high in authoritarianism are not that uncommon. And people who are not so authoritarian should not look down on them either. [lquote]When people are under a lot of stress, everyone is susceptible to authoritarian appeals[/lquote],鈥� Hetherington says. 鈥淏ut the thing that puzzles me is, 鈥榃hy now?鈥欌��
Why now?
鈥淭he United States truly is the hegemonic power in the world. So the big question is, 鈥榃hy do Americans feel such worry and fear right now, whereas we didn鈥檛 see something like this happen in the wake of the Cuban missile crisis, when kids were ducking beneath their desks?鈥欌��
Media pushing fear
Part of the answer may lie with the media.
鈥淩epublicans are complaining an awful lot that they can鈥檛 control Donald Trump,鈥� Hetherington says. 鈥淏ut keep in mind that Trump鈥檚 advantage is the amount of anger and fear and discontent that people are experiencing.
鈥淭his is exactly what Fox 狐狸视频 and Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck have been giving us for 10 or 20 years. It鈥檚 turned on and the Republicans can鈥檛 turn off the switch. They鈥檝e opened Pandora鈥檚 box.鈥�
For a thorough overview on Hetherington鈥檚 theory on authoritarianism, see this .