The Authoritarian Moment

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The Authoritarian Moment Page 29

by Ben Shapiro

Black Lives Matter movement and, 122–23

  class-divided culture and, 30, 54–55

  MasterCard, 135

  Matze, John, 12, 210

  McCabe, Joseph, 90–91

  McCain, John, 25, 60–61

  McCarthy, Brian, 157

  McConnell, Mitch, 2, 10, 61

  McDaniel, Hattie, 148

  McGirr, Lisa, 2

  McMillon, Doug, 120

  McNeil, Donald Jr., 220–21

  McPherson, James, 179

  media, 25, 37, 127, 166, 187

  conflict between authoritarian left and liberals, 173–80

  coverage of January 6 storming of U.S. capitol building, 11, 166–68

  curbing of free speech of conservative media, 180–85

  distrust of, 169

  false reporting of Sandman incident, 185–86

  narrative of “mostly peaceful” BLM riots, 163–66

  political leanings of, 168–69, 186–87

  rise and fall of “objectivity,” 169–73

  techniques of “objective” journalists, 171

  see also social media

  Media Matters, 181, 224

  merit, ScienceTM and diversity encouraged over, 114–17

  Microsoft, 121

  Mill, J. S., 35

  Miller, Matt, 152–53

  Moonlight (film), 140, 141

  Morey, Daryl, 159–60

  Moynihan, Brian, 135

  Mueller, Robert, 11

  Mulligan, Carey, 151

  Murray, Charles, 77

  Nadella, Satya, 121

  Nankin, Michael, 144–45

  Napear, Grant, 122

  NASDAQ, diversity quotas for corporate listing on, 128

  National Affairs, 94

  National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), condemnation of “whiteness” and, 66–67

  National Rifle Association, 135

  National Science Foundation, 116

  Nature, 111, 114

  Navratilova, Martina, 16

  NBA, woke sports and, 155, 156, 159–60

  NBC News, 124

  Neal-Boylan, Leslie, 122

  Netflix, 121, 146–48, 154

  Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS), 114, 221

  New England Journal of Medicine, 113, 117

  New Ruling Class

  education and credentialism, 75–79

  middle class and, 77–78

  ScienceTM and, 98–99

  social justice and vocabulary of, 79–80, 86

  wokeism as “religion” of, 94

  New York Post, 168, 189–92

  New York Stock Exchange, 128

  New York Times, 36, 105–6, 164, 193

  Cotton and, 174–75

  Groves and, 206–7

  McNeil and, 220–21

  Weiss and, 178

  Newsmax, 182

  NFL, 155, 156–58, 159, 160

  Nielsen, 146

  Nike, 158, 160

  Nixon, Richard, 52

  Nordhaus, William, 108

  North Carolina, 135

  Northern Virginia Tea Party, 136

  Obama, Barack

  bitter clingers comment of, 24, 60

  Critical Race Theory and, 59–61

  elections and changing philosophy of, 40, 53, 59, 60, 62

  fact checking of, 203

  intersectional coalition in 2012, 45–48, 59–66

  media and, 25, 146, 171, 195

  Obama, Michelle, 43, 60, 78, 146

  Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria, 13, 43, 70–71, 109, 198, 203

  ochlocracy (rule of the mob), 5

  Office, The (television program), 148

  Ohanion, Lee, 51

  Omar, Ilhan, 71

  One America News, 182

  Opam, Kwame, 174

  Operation Vote, 64

  Overton Window, of acceptable discourse, 27, 40–42

  Page, Ellen, 149–50

  Palin, Sarah, 61

  Parasite (film), 140

  Parler, deplatforming of, 12–13, 136, 209–10

  Pascal, Pedro, 214

  PayPal, 135, 136

  Pence, Mike, 2, 10

  Philadelphia Inquirer, 177

  Phillips, Hillary, 126

  Pinker, Steven, 16, 107

  Pitaro, Jimmy, 159

  Pluckrose, Helen, 82–83, 85–86

  Poetry Foundation, 122

  political correctness, rejection of Cordiality Principle and, 219

  Politico, 65, 168, 190

  reactions to Shapiro article in Playbook of, 175–77

  PolitiFact, 195, 203

  postmodernism

  impact on science, 110–12

  impact on universities and colleges, 88–89

  wokeism and, 83, 85

  Pressley, Ayanna, 70–71

  Princeton University, 114

  Prodigy, 194

  Promising Young Woman (film), 151

  pronouns, use of, 68, 84, 113, 212

  Prosser, Lisa A., 105

  Psaki, Jen, 181, 187

  race and racism

  Carmichael on definition and disparate impacts of, 55–56

  corporations and statements regarding systemic racism, 120–23

  racial theory of politics, 30–31

  ScienceTM and, 113–14

  speech judged without context of intent, 36, 220

  ways to challenge systemic racism charges, 216–17

  see also Critical Race Theory (CRT)

  Raman, Manjari, 75–76

  Randall, David, 86

  Reagan, Ronald, 45, 46, 52

  Reason, 92–93

  Reich, Robert, 43

  Reid, Joy, 3

  renormalization, of America

  anti-conventionalism and, 39

  corporations and, 37, 125–26

  customer bases and market forces, 125–26

  Hollywood and, 145–47, 150–54

  importance of reversing, 226–27

  institutions generally and, 37–39

  intersectional coalition and, 45–48, 59–66, 67, 69–72

  media and, 37, 173–80

  rejection of “white concepts,” 66–68

  revolutionary aggression and, 39

  Revolutionary Impulse and identity politics, 53–59

  sports and, 154–60

  top-down censorship and, 39, 40

  universities and colleges, 37, 87–91

  Utopian Impulse and ideal of the state, 48–53

  ways to reverse, 219–25

  “resurfacing,” corporate employees and, 124

  revolutionary aggression, 31, 39, 82

  election of 2016 and, 26

  intersectional coalitions and, 64, 69

  left-wing authoritarianism and, 8, 14, 15

  media and, 165, 175

  Revolutionary Impulse and, 47, 54, 56

  Revolutionary Impulse

  authoritarian leftism and, 47

  Critical Race Theory and, 57–59

  identity politics and, 53–59, 66

  Obama’s intersectional coalition and, 63–64

  tension with Utopian Impulse, 70

  Rhimes, Shonda, 145

  Rice, Dennis, 141

  Rice, Susan, 146

  right-wing authoritarianism, 2

  Capitol storming and, 9–11, 14

  traits of, 5

  Robach, Amy, 190

  Romney, Mitt, 25, 42, 63

  Roose, Kevin, 184

  Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, 46, 50–51, 52

  Ross, Stephen, 133

  RottenTomatoes, 151, 152, 153

  Rowling, J. K., 16, 41

  Rub and Tug (film), 149

  Rubin, David, 139–40

  Rubio, Marco, 25

  Russian disinformation, social media and, 191, 198–99

  Sacco, Justine, 208

  same-sex marriage issues, 34, 46, 63, 68, 136, 224

  Samuel, biblical book of, 4–5

  San Francisco 49ers, 157–58
r />   Sanders, Bernie, 67

  Sandmann, Nick, 185–86

  Sanford, Nevitt, 7

  Sanger, Margaret, 49

  Sargent, Greg, 2, 181

  Scarborough, Joe, 13, 25, 183, 185

  Schmidt, Gavin, 107–8

  Schmidt, Harald, 105

  Schwab, Klaus, 129

  ScienceTM, substituted for science

  COVID 19 protocols and exceptions for Floyd protests and riots, 97–104

  COVID 19 vaccines and social justice tranching of availability, 104–6

  diversity considered over merit, 114–17

  gender dysphoria and, 112–13

  outright political endorsements and, 117–18

  postmodernism’s impact on, 110–12

  race and, 102, 113–14

  science and objective truths, 95, 98

  ScienceTM and politics, 98–99

  Scientism and climate change, 106–10

  as threat to scientific credibility, 118

  Scientific American, 117

  Scruton, Roger, 34

  Section 230 of Communications Decency Act, 193–96, 200

  Selma (film), 140–41

  Seltzer, Wendy, 11

  service providers, Left’s attempt to discourage conservative media and, 180–81, 182–83

  Sevugan, Hari, 43

  Sex Roles (journal), 85

  Shafer, Jack, 168–69

  Shape of Water, The (film), 140

  Shields, Jon, 94

  Shor, David, 16

  Shrier, Abigail, 112

  Signal, 210

  “silence is violence,” 36, 127–28, 218

  silenced majority, of voters

  insecurity of authoritarian and, 22

  Left’s takeover of institutions and, 34–36

  pollsters and shock of Trump’s 2016 victory, 23–27

  Silliman College, of Yale University, 93

  Silverman, Fred, 145

  Silverman, Sarah, 150

  Silverstein, Jake, 179

  Sister Souljah, 58

  1619 Project, of New York Times, 165, 178–80

  Skipper, John, 158–59

  Smith, Ben, 172–73

  Snead, O. Carter, 88

  Snopes.com, 203

  social justice, language and religious nature of, 79–87, 94

  social media

  algorithms for censorship and “fact checking,” 200–206

  Hunter Biden and Burisma information and, 189–92

  Left’s attempt to discourage conservative media and, 181, 183

  online mobs and, 206–9

  quashing of alternative platforms, 209–11

  reactions to storming of U.S. Capitol, 12–13, 136, 205, 209–10

  Section 230 of Communications Decency Act and early intentions of platforms, 193–96

  shift to new role as information gatekeepers, 194–200

  see also specific social media sites

  Sokal, Alan, 85

  Sosis, Richard, 83

  SoulCycle, 133

  Southern Poverty Law Center, 136

  Spanberger, Abigail, 70–71

  “speech is violence,” 36

  need to reject idea of, 218–19

  sports, renormalization of, 154–60

  Sports Center, 156

  stakeholder capitalism versus shareholder capitalism, 129–31

  Star Wars: The Last Jedi (film), 152–53

  Steele, Shelby, 90

  Stefancic, Jean, 56

  Stefanik, Elise, 12

  Stelter, Brian, 187

  Stengel, Richard, 184

  Stephens, Bret, 179–80

  Stern, David, 155, 157

  Sticks and Stones (television program), 153

  Stone, Andy, 192

  Strangio, Chase, 112

  Stripe, 136

  Sullivan, Margaret, 182, 187

  Sulzberger, A. G., 175

  Summers, Lawrence, 111

  Sunrise Movement, 44

  Swisher, Kara, 183–84, 185, 198

  Taleb, Nassim Nicholas, 37–38

  Tampa Bay Rays, 160

  Tarrio, Enrique, 136

  Taylor, Breonna, 160

  Taylor, Charles, 88

  Tea Party movement, 46, 61, 136, 172

  Teigen, Chrissy, 133

  Teixeira, Ruy, 64–65

  Telegram, 210

  Thunberg, Greta, 108

  Time, 129

  Tlaib, Rashida, 43, 70–71

  Tocqueville, Alexis de, 20–21

  top-down censorship, 82, 151

  culture and, 26, 31

  gender dysphoria and, 113

  intersectional coalitions and, 64, 69

  left-wing authoritarianism and, 8, 14, 15

  media and, 175

  Overton Window, of acceptable discourse, 27, 40–42

  renormalization of American institutions and, 39, 40

  Utopian Impulse and, 47, 48

  Travis, Clay, 156

  Trump, Donald, 28–29, 71, 136, 176, 190–91, 205

  authoritarian rhetoric without authoritarian governing, 10–11, 14

  media and, 169, 171

  ScienceTM and, 117

  silenced voters and elites’ reactions to 2016 election of, 23–27

  Truth Revolt, 224

  12 Years a Slave (film), 141

  Twitter, 12–13, 17–18, 172–73, 175–77, 191–92, 194, 205, 207–10, 212

  Ukraine, Hunter Biden and, 189–90

  Ultracrepidarian Problem, ScienceTM and, 103–4, 106–7, 110–11, 117

  Umbrella Academy, 149–50

  UN Environment Programme, 109

  Unanue, Robert, 133

  unity, two types of, 42

  universities and colleges

  admission scandals and credentialism, 73–79

  political affiliations at, 80, 91–92

  renormalization of, 37, 87–91

  silencing of opposition and self-perpetuation of wokeism, 91–94

  social justice language and wokeism, 79–87, 94

  wokeism’s carriage into culture, government, and science, 85–86, 94–95

  USA Today, 166

  US Business Roundtable, 130

  U.S. Capitol, January 6, 2021, storming of, 1–3

  authoritarian responses to, 2, 11–14

  democratic institutions and, 9–11, 14

  media’s coverage of compared to BLM coverage, 166–68

  Parler’s deplatforming and, 12–13, 136, 209–10

  social media and banning of Trump, 205

  U.S. Constitution

  checks and balances to restrain government and, 5–6

  Revolutionary Impulse and, 53, 54

  Utopian Impulse and, 51

  see also freedom of speech and the press

  utopian brutality, 5

  Utopian Impulse

  authoritarian leftism and, 47

  Critical Race Theory and, 57–59

  ideal of the state as solution to societal ills, 48–52

  identity politics and, 66

  intersectional coalition and, 63–64

  tension with Revolutionary Impulse, 70

  waning of interest in, in 1980s, 52–53

  vaccines, social justice and COVID 19, 104–6

  Vance, J. D., 76–77

  VandeHei, Jim, 21, 184

  Vanity Fair, 220

  Variety, 151

  Velshi, Ali, 165

  Vimeo, 194

  Visa, 135

  Wall Street Journal, 92, 137

  Walmart, 120

  Warzel, Charlie, 174

  Washington Post, 164–65, 176–77, 203–4

  Waters, Maxine, 198

  Weingarten, Randi, 136

  Weinstein, Bret, 93

  Weinstein, Harvey, 142

  Weiss, Bari, 178

  Wemple, Erik, 176

  white supremacy. See Critical Race Theory (CRT)

  “whiteness,” museum exhibition condemning, 66–67

  Whitmer, Gretchen
, 100–101

  Wilentz, Sean, 179

  Williamson, Kevin, 175

  Wilson, Darren, 172

  Wilson, Woodrow, 48–49

  Wischnowski, Stan, 177

  Wojcicki, Susan, 204

  Wood, Gordon S., 179

  Woods, Mario, 157

  Wortham, Jenna, 174

  Wright, Jeremiah, 60

  Wyden, Ron, 13

  Yale Daily News, 90–92

  Yancy, George, 93–94

  Year of Yes (Rhimes), 145

  Yelp, and “woke snitching,” 133

  Yglesias, Matthew, 16, 41–42

  YouTube, 184, 194, 201–2, 204–5, 210, 211

  Zelensky, Volodymyr, 190

  Zucker, Jeff, 25

  Zuckerberg, Mark, 183–84, 196–98, 205

  About the Author

  BEN SHAPIRO is founding editor in chief and editor emeritus of the Daily Wire and host of The Ben Shapiro Show, the top conservative podcast in the nation. A three-time New York Times bestselling author, Shapiro is a graduate of Harvard Law School and an Orthodox Jew. He is widely considered one of the most influential conservative voices in America.

  Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.

  Also by Ben Shapiro

  Bullies: How the Left’s Culture of Fear and Intimidation Silences Americans

  Brainwashed: How Universities Indoctrinate America’s Youth

  The Right Side of History: How Reason and Moral Purpose Made the West Great

  How to Destroy America in Three Easy Steps

  Copyright

  THE AUTHORITARIAN MOMENT. Copyright © 2021 by Ben Shapiro. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

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  Digital Edition JULY 2021 ISBN: 978-0-06-300184-8

  Version 06172021

  Print ISBN: 978-0-06-300182-4

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