Are they nuts?

Dipping into the mailbag ...

Steve Coffman writes:

I enjoy reading your blog, but your latest chapter [11] in the [Rush, Newspeak and Fascism] series was somewhat disappointing.

Many conservatives' belief in the importance of tradition and social institutions is predicated on a belief that individual human nature is more evil than good. Such a belief does imply self-loathing, which is not exactly a hallmark of mental health. However, I don't think you can generalize conservatives as less mentally healthy than liberals, even when you fall short of labelling them mentally ill. It's a bit self-serving to not be suspect reasoning.

Also, and I'm oversimplifying, but you imply that all conservatism is tainted by the existence of its extremists. However, I rejected this argument when Ann Coulter said the same thing about liberalism.

Well, of course, these are in some ways rough drafts, and perhaps not as clear as they could be. Let's see if I can reformulate to make things clearer:

1) I wouldn't say that all of conservatism is tainted by the existence of its extremists, anymore than the same for liberals. What I would say is that each is tainted by the extent to which it traffics in the agendas and ideas of its extremists, and the extent to which those extremists are made to feel welcome (see the above post on Dick Cheney). This has clearly been occurring on a near-massive scale with the GOP, while similar cross-pollination with mainstream liberals and extreme leftists has been increasingly minimized in recent years. If Democrats were echoing the rhetoric and ideas of the Animal Liberation Front and Earth Liberation Front, I would not hesitate to criticize them just as harshly.

2) The right-wing extremist worldview is in many ways demented, and certainly inclined to totalism, but I did not intend to suggest that conservatives are more or less mentally healthy than liberals. I'm no psychiatrist nor a psychologist, and rather despise those journalists (see Andrew Sullivan) who pretend to have the ability to render a psychiatric diagnosis. I was careful to cite that part of the Anthony and Robbins study that said:

We do not necessarily view the members of exemplary dualist groups as mentally ill or deeply disturbed relative to average levels of developmental maturity in the general population. We do believe that such groups appeal to individuals with certain identity constructions and difficulties. Nevertheless some degree of splitting, projective identification and polarized identity may be 'normal' for most people in mainstream culture.

Nonetheless, I think I can safely characterize extremism of all kinds as a destabilizing and corrosive influence on the public discourse in a democratic society, particularly if the variants of extremism at work are explicitly anti-democratic. That isn't psychology; it's reality, especially if you've witnessed it in action.

3) Thus, the extent to which extremist memes becomes part of the fabric of mainstream conservatism will directly affect not so much the mental health of conservatives but their own contribution to the overall health of the body politick. If they are pursuing extremist-inspired agendas and mouthing extremist memes, then that contribution will be corrosive and destabilizing.

4) The dualism to which I alluded is an important indicator of the gravitational pull being exerted by right-wing extremists, and ultimately the extent to which this venom is planting itself in our midst. As mainstream conservatism develops more observably dualist features -- particularly as it approaches an us-or-them mindset in defending Bush's war, and projects an image of a "divinely inspired" president -- the more dangerous the tide becomes.

5) I did suggest that liberals were more inclined to resist this dualism -- though of course they are hardly immune from their own brand of dualism. Nonetheless, their resistance to right-wing dualism does seem a likely suspect in the extreme hostility and projection being directed their way currently.