<nettime> Cults - Tourish and Wohlforth

[Phil Graham <phil.graham@mailbox.uq.edu.au>]

Title -- On the Edge: Political Cults Right and Left


Author(s): Dennis Tourish; Tim Wohlforth

Description: This is the first book to document the extent of political
cults on both the right and left, and explain their significance for
mainstream political oganizations. The authors begin by outlining the
defining characteristcs of cults in general, and then, in twelve chapters,
they analyze the extent to which a variety of well-known movements fall
within the spectrum of what could be defined as cultic organizations,
covering such groups and individuals as Lyndon LaRouche, Fred Newman, Ted
Grant, Marlene Dixon, and the right-wing Christian Identity movement,
Posse Commitatus, Aryan Nation, militias, and the Freemen. The emphasis is
on exploring the ideological underpinnings of many groups which predispose
them to cultic practices, along with the organizational measures they
employ to suppress dissent, achieve intense conformity, and extract
extraordinary levels of commitment from their membership. In the process,
the authors also discuss how political activists and organizations can
guard against falling into the trap of cultism. 


Selected Contents:
PART ONE. THE NATURE OF CULTS
Introduction
Chapter One. Cults in Politics
Chapter Two. Groupthink, Big Brother, and Love Bombing
PART TWO. CULTS ON THE RIGHT
Chapter Three. Christian Identity: A Heritage of Hate
Chapter Four. Soldiers of God
Chapter Five. The Travels of Lyndon LaRouche
PART THREE. THERAPY CULTS AND POLITICS
Chapter Six. Scientology, Maoism, and the Re-Evaluations of Harvey
Jackins
Chapter Seven. Fred Newman: Lenin as Therapist
Chapter Eight. Synanon: Utopia as a Game
PART FOUR. CULTS ON THE LEFT
Chapter Nine. Marlene Dixon's Little Army
Chapter Ten. Gerry Healy: Guru to a Star
Chapter Eleven. The Lonely Passion of Ted Grant
Chapter Twelve. The Many Faces of Gino Perente
Conclusion. Politics As Religion

Hardcover Information
0-7656-0639-9 $34.95
256 pp. Bibliographic references, index.

Est. Publication Date: September 2000
Published by M.E. Sharpe, Inc.



----------------------
Dr. Dennis Tourish
Reader in Management
University of Aberdeen
Tel: 01224 - 273314
Fax: 01224 - 273843
D.Tourish@abdn.ac.uk
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Opinions expressed in this email are my own unless otherwise stated.
Phil Graham
Lecturer (Communication)
Graduate School of Management
University of Queensland
617 3381 1083
www.geocities/pw.graham/
www.uq.edu.au/~uqpgraha
http://www.angelfire.com/ga3/philgraham/index.html
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