Extremism

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Extremism is a term used to describe the actions or ideologies of individuals or groups outside the perceived political center of a society; or otherwise claimed to violate common moral standards.^{[citation needed]} In democratic societies, individuals or groups that advocate the replacement of democracy with a authoritarian regime are usually branded extremists, in authoritarian societies the opposite applies.

The term is invariably, or almost invariably, used pejoratively. Extremism is usually contrasted with moderation, and extremists with moderates. (For example, in contemporary discussions in Western countries of Islam, or of Islamic political movements, it is common for there to be a heavy stress on the distinction between extremist and moderate Muslims. It is also not uncommon to necessarily define distinctions regarding extremist Christians as opposed to moderate Christians, as in countries such as the United States).

Political agendas perceived as extremist often include those from the far left or far right as well as fundamentalism or, as a more general term, fanaticism.

Radicalism or extremism?

The terms extremism or extremist are almost always exonymic — i.e. applied by others to a group rather than by a group labeling itself. Rather than labeling themselves extremist, those labeled as such might describe themselves as, for example, political radicals. There is no political party that calls itself “right-wing extremist” or “left-wing extremist”, and there is no sect of any religion that calls itself “extremist” or which calls its doctrine “extremism”.

The term extremist is used to describe groups and individuals who have become radicalized, in some way, even though the term radical originally meant to go to the root of a (social) problem. The term radical is one not normally regarded as pejorative (except perhaps in the United States of America) and, unlike extremist, is sometimes used by groups in their description of themselves.

The term extremist is often used with reference to those who use or advocate violence against the will of society at large, but it is also used by some to describe those who advocate or use violence to enforce the will of the social body, such as a government or majority constituency. Those described as extremist would in general not accept that what they practice or advocate constitutes violence and would instead speak in terms of acts of “resistance”or militant action or the use of force. The word violence cannot be regarded as value-neutral. Ideology and methodology often become inextricably linked under the single term extremism.

The notion that there is a philosophy which can be described as extremism is considered by some to be suspect. Within sociology, several academics who track (and are critical of) extreme right-wing groups have objected to the term extremist, which was popularized by centrist sociologists in the 1960s and 1970s. As Jerome Himmelstein states the case: “At best this characterization tells us nothing substantive about the people it labels; at worst it paints a false picture.” (Himmelstein, p. 7). The act of labeling a person, group or action as extremist is sometimes claimed to be a technique to further a political goal — especially by governments seeking to defend the status quo, or political centrists. In any event, the term extremist — like the word violence— cannot be regarded as value-neutral.

Theories of extremism

Laird Wilcox identifies 21 alleged traits of a “political extremist”, ranging from behaviour like “a tendency to Character assassination” over hateful behaviour like “name calling and labeling” to general character traits like “a tendency to view opponents and critics as essentially evil”, “a tendency to substitute intimidation for argument” or “groupthink” here.

Eric Hoffer and Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. were two political writers during the mid-20th century who gave what purported to be accounts of “political extremism”. Hoffer wrote books such as The True Believer and The Passionate State of Mind about the psychology and sociology of those who join “fanatical” mass movements. Schlesinger wrote books such as The Vital Center, championing a supposed “center” of politics within which “mainstream” political discourse takes place, and underscoring the alleged need for societies to draw definite lines regarding what falls outside of this acceptability.

In this way, both Communism and Fascism were described by some^[who?] in the postwar “western democracies” as “extremist” movements, as were (arguably^[who?] “fascist”) groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. The term was also used at times^[who?] to describe groups which held views outside of the “mainstream” but which did not necessarily advocate the use of physical force to achieve their objectives. Examples of such groups might be the Nation of Islam^{[citation needed]} and the movement for nuclear disarmament.^{[citation needed]}

Seymour Martin Lipset argued that besides the extremism of the left and right there is also an extremism of the center, and that it actually formed the base of fascism.^[1]

Joining extremist groups has been seen to arise from beliefs about the acceptability of aggression towards the group’s target. For example, in Pakistan, beliefs about the acceptability of aggression against Jews were shown to predict who would join an extremist anti-Semitic group. ^[2] Cultural differences in acceptability about aggression towards certain groups may explain extremism towards certain targets, and as these beliefs can be easily changed through intervention, this may offer a way in which extremism can be discouraged.^[2]

Extremism as part of a “pathological illness”

“Extremism” is not a stand-alone characteristic. The attitude or behavior of an “extremist” may be represented as part of a spectrum which ranges from mild interest through “obsession” to “fanaticism” and “extremism”. The alleged similarity between the “extreme left” and “extreme right”, or perhaps between different religious “zealots”, may mean only that all these are “unacceptable” from the standpoint of a supposed mainstream or majority.

Many psychologists and psychoanalysts view “extremism” as a disease and a way of life where people look to violence to provide a feeling of being alive. Arno Gruen said, “The lack of identity associated with extremists is the result of self-destructive self-hatred that leads to feelings of revenge toward life itself, and a compulsion to kill one’s own humanness.” Thus extremism is seen as not a tactic, nor an ideology, but as a pathological illness which feeds on the destruction of life.^[3]

Uses of the term in “mainstream” politics

Barry Goldwater said, “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice; moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue” at the 1964 Republican Convention in a sentence attributed to his speechwriter Karl Hess.

Robert F. Kennedy said, “What is objectionable, what is dangerous about extremists is not that they are extreme but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents.”

Since the 1990s, in United States politics the term Sister Souljah moment has been used to describe a politician’s public repudiation of an allegedly extremist person or group, statement, or position.

Other terms

The term “subversive” was often used interchangeably, in the United States at least, with “extremist” during the Cold War period, although the two words are not synonymous.

See also

• Consequentialism
• False consensus effect
• Terrorism
• Vigilantism

References

• George, John and Laird Wilcox. Nazis, Communists, Klansmen, and Others on the Fringe: Political Extremism in America  Prometheus Books, 1992. (ISBN 0-87975-680-2)
• Himmelstein, Jerome L. All But Sleeping with the Enemy: Studying the Radical Right Up Close  ASA, San Francisco: 1988
• Hoffer, Eric. The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements. Various editions, first published 1951.
• Schlesinger, Arthur. The Vital Center: The Politics of Freedom. Various editions, first published 1949.
• Wilcox, Laird. “What Is Political Extremism”, retrieved from The Voluntaryist newsletter #27, 1987

External links

• America’s Homegrown Extremists - slideshow by Life magazine