“Marxists, maniacs and lunatics”: the rhetoric of the new right about the domination of the left in the United States universities

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21669/tomo.v43.20066

Keywords:

New Right Movement, Education, Reactionary Thesis, David Holowitz

Abstract

The new American rights argue that contemporary education is in crisis due to leftist domination. From the perspective of Albert Hirschman, the article identifies three reactionary theses mobilized against contemporary education: the denial of other people’s existence, the lack of pluralism, and persecution. Then, this article analyzes the production of David Horowitz, one of the principal intellectuals of the new American rights, to illustrate these theses. Observations indicate that reactionary theses about education are paramount to understanding the new right’s role in this field. These theses mobilized intend to legitimize the attack on public education and diversity and to promote conservative education

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Author Biographies

Marco Aurélio Dias de Souza, Federal University of Sergipe

Adjunct Professor at the Department of Education/UFS/Itabaiana and in the Postgraduate Program in Sociology/UFS. He has a degree in Social Sciences from Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho (2002), a master's degree in Sociology from Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho (2007) and a PhD in Postgraduate Program in Sociology from Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho (2014). Develops research related to political, economic and educational sociology centered on the following themes: 1- Mobilization of the new right (in Brazil and the USA)  that include conservative, libertarian and religious right movements based on the concept of Cultural War. The purpose of this research is to understand how these movements organize themselves and compete for space in public life in their attempts to transform reality based on their beliefs and values. 2- Debate on the idea of ​​a crisis of democracy, based on the idea of ​​a crisis of political representation and the strategies of "neopopulist" actors. 3- Topics related to US politics and history after the 1950s. 4- Discussions on Think Tanks.

Camila de Jesus Oliveira, Federal University of Sergipe

she has a bachelor's degree in Social Communication - Journalism from the Federal University of Sergipe (2017.2) and is a Law student at Universidade Tiradentes (UNIT). He has a professional master's degree in Information and Knowledge Management from the Federal University of Sergipe (2021) and has carried out research in the area of ​​mobile application development; open government data and smart cities. She is currently dedicated to studying the advancement of the new right in Brazil.

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Published

2024-05-29

How to Cite

Dias de Souza, M. A., & de Jesus Oliveira, C. (2024). “Marxists, maniacs and lunatics”: the rhetoric of the new right about the domination of the left in the United States universities. TOMO Review, 43, e20066. https://doi.org/10.21669/tomo.v43.20066

Issue

Vol. 43 (2024): Continuous Publication

Section

Special Issue: Debates on Political Sociology today: theory and empirism

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Copyright (c) 2024 Marco Aurélio Dias de Souza, Camila de Jesus Oliveira

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