The Politics of Denial

What is the driving force behind the rage of Americas white males? Emotion appears to be playing a growing role in politics as evidenced by vociferous opposition to welfare abortion and immigrants as well as by the rise of the radical Religious Right antienvironmentalism and the increasingly neoconservative slant of American public opinion. The Politics of Denial presents a compelling explanation of these phenomena providing solid empirical evidence for the role of rigid harsh child-rearing practices in the creation of punitive authoritarian adult political attitudes. The authors social psychologists show how both the political and the public policy processes in the United States are distorted by the unresolved negative emotions (such as fear anger and helplessness) that remain from punitive parenting and by the politicians and conservative religious leaders who exploit those emotions. Among the many public figures discussed are Patrick Buchanan Newt Gingrich Ronald Reagan and Billy Graham.