Far-Right Fantasy is a straight-forward, jargon-free study of contemporary American right-wing extremism. Accessible to both professional and lay audiences, it allows activists to speak for themselves in their own words. It takes the self-announced religious motivations of extremists seriously, and illustrates this by citing numerous cases of radical politics. The book addresses the strengths and weaknesses of the standard psycho-social-cultural explanations of far-right activism. It shows how extremists are similar educationally and psychologically to their more conventional neighbors; that they get into the movement in the same way that others become peace activists or radical environmentalists, namely, through their ties with fellow workers and church-goers, family members, and classmates; and that their views are given a patina of certainty by being repeatedly corroborated within closed, non-contaminated communication systems. The book avoids being preachy or judgmental, but it does try to challenge readers morally by submitting far-right fantasy to a formal ideology critique. It does this by showing how the reforms it recommends – a marketplace free of regulation, draconian immigration restrictions; an end to the federal reserve bank and the income tax; a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution; anti-union "right to work" laws and a return to debt slavery; the privatization of schools, the post office, and the commons, and so on – contradict its ostensible goal, which is to protect and enhance middle class interests. Far-Right Fantasy is suitable for adoption as a supplemental text in political psychology and sociology, sociologies of religion and knowledge, collective behavior, and American political history.
Double-entry bookkeeping (DEB), modern capitalism's first and foremost calculative technology, was "invented" during the Middle Ages when profit making was morally stigmatized. James Aho examines the problematic of moneymaking and offers an explanatory understanding of the paradoxical coupling of profit seeking and morality by situating DEB in the religious circumstances from which it emerged, specifically the newly instituted sacrament of penance, that is, confession. Confession impacted the consciences of medieval businessmen both through its sacramental form and through its moral teachings. The form of confession produced widespread habits of moral scrupulosity (leading to compulsive record keeping); the content of confession taught that commerce itself was morally suspect. Scrupulous businessmen were thus driven to justify their affairs to church, commune, and themselves. With the aid of DEB, moneymaking was "Christianized" and Christianity was made more amenable to the pursuit of wealth. Although DEB is typically viewed exclusively as a scientifically neutral account of the flow of money through a firm, it remains as it was originally devised, a rhetorical argument.
Racism, collective violence, sickness, environmental catastrophe, body obsession, greed, and accelerated life concern everyone. In this book, however, they are not viewed as social problems to be solved by technical experts. Instead, they are viewed as products of the joint transference of aspects of ourselves onto objects independent of ourselves. More specifically, they emerge from conviction there is something "out there” that can complete us, secure us, fill us, stabilize us, or in some other way enable us to escape from or deny our "lack": our existential precariousness or death.
From their home bases in Idaho and neighboring areas of the Northwest, organizations such as the Order, the Aryan Nations Church, the Posse Comitatus, and the Golden Mean Society have drawn national attention and spread the gospel of a “constitutionally pure, Christian homeland.” For the reader who knows these groups only from a selection of inflammatory quotes and violent deeds, this compelling work presents the first disciplined exploration of the backgrounds and belief systems of the Christian patriot movement. Using information gathered from interviews and direct observation of patriot gatherings, Aho replaces the stereotype of solitary crazies from the fringes of society with more complex and disturbing realities.
The Orifice as Sacrificial Site bases its argument on expert histories and primary documents of selected religions. Although based on textual analysis and documentary evidence this is essentially a social study. The goal of Aho's study is to discover explanatory principles of orifice management, rather than to expound on the peculiarities of individual faiths. The work locates the attributes religions share, instead of the qualities that differentiate them. The argument of the book is that these preeminently private sites are in reality "publicly accomplished." The most secret reaches of our personal geographies, our orifices, are products of more encompassing structural circumstances, of which we have only a dim grasp. Thus, one can speak with appropriate caution, of a prototypical "Jewish mouth," and of a uniquely different "Christian mouth"; of orthodox "Brahmanic genitals" and of their diametric opposites, "tantric genitals." The task of this fascinating study is to elucidate the nature of these mysterious precincts and, above all, to demonstrate how they have come to acquire the special qualities they do. In order to do this, the author examines the prophetic moment of a people's cultural ethos, the circumstances surrounding that point in time during which their dominant faith acquired its characteristic "orifice signature"; and second, to the organizational matters concerning that faith, its boundary concerns, internal hierarchies and disputes, and the external market situation. The author aims to show how the social regulation of bodily orifices is, if not mechanically determined, at least made understandable in light of religious and theological concerns. These are examined through a social science lens that offers amply illustrated, detailed, cross-cultural studies of orifice taboos in Christianity, ancient Judaism, Brahmanism, tantric Hinduism, and some tribal cultures. Aho's argument will add support for the theory that orifices are at the center of all political and religious disputes. James Aho is professor of sociology at Idaho State University. Among his earlier books are two celebrated studies of survivalist and hate groups in the northwest, The Politics of Righteousness and This Thing of Darkness.
What does it mean to be a social being in the ordinary life-world? This clear and compelling introduction to social phenomenology examines the experiential features of the basic things comprising our life-world, namely me, you, abstract others (enemies, communities, and associations), and attributes of the lived-body (emotions, pain, and pleasure). Each of these entities is phenomenologically described, with the aim of reducing reports of personal experiences and other primary documents to the presumed prototypical experience of the thing in question—its ideal essence. Another aim of this study is to sociologically account for how the various entities of the life-world have been accomplished, that is, how the prototypical experiences of the things in question have come to be. By showing the life-world to be our joint project rather than a fixed, unalterable coherency, this volume destabilizes our naive attitude towards the things of the world. Examples are drawn from the author's own research on issues such as violence, religion, health, and race; from classic and contemporary anthropological research; and from the works of some of the most innovative philosophers of the twentieth century. This study actually does phenomenology instead of merely arguing for its necessity and will appeal to both social scientists and philosophers.
Maelstrom: Christian Dominionism and Far-Right Insurgence illuminates the latest outbreak of right-wing extremism in America. This book reviews the cyclical nature of right-wing resurgences in American history, dismisses the appropriateness of the word “fascism” to explain them, and then describes in depth the goal of “reconstructing” American institutions on the basis of biblical principles. It critiques the popular view that far-right politics is carried by stupid, socially isolated, nuts. To this end, it discusses the logicality of the “big lie” and examines in detail how people are recruited into the far-right, by entertaining the theories of authoritarianism and resource mobilization. Finally, it characterizes how the ends-oriented rationality of far-right activists differs from the mini-max criterion of rationality utilized by the ordinary person. This can motivate them to be violent and can frustrate efforts by the government to control them.
Following the core principle of phenomenology as a return 'to the things themselves,' Body Matters attends to the phenomena of bodily afflictions and examines them from three different standpoints: from society in general that interprets them as 'sicknesses,' from the medical professions that interpret them as 'diseases,' and from the patients themselves who interpret them as 'illnesses.' By drawing on a crucial distinction in German phenomenology between two senses of the body_the quantifiable, material body (Ksrper) and the lived-body(Leib)_the authors explore the ways in which sickness, disease, and illness are socially and historically experienced and constructed. To make their case, they draw on examples from a multiplicity of disciplines and cultures as well as a number of cases from Euro-American history. The intent is to unsettle taken-for-granted assumptions that readers may have about body troubles. These are assumptions widely held as well by medical and allied health professionals, in addition to many sociologists and philosophers of health and illness. To this end, Body Matters does not simply deconstruct prejudices of mainstream biomedicine; it also constructively envisions more humane and artful forms of therapy.
The Orifice as Sacrificial Site bases its argument on expert histories and primary documents of selected religions. Although based on textual analysis and documentary evidence this is essentially a social study. The goal of Aho's study is to discover explanatory principles of orifice management, rather than to expound on the peculiarities of individual faiths. The work locates the attributes religions share, instead of the qualities that differentiate them. The argument of the book is that these preeminently private sites are in reality "publicly accomplished." The most secret reaches of our personal geographies, our orifices, are products of more encompassing structural circumstances, of which we have only a dim grasp. Thus, one can speak with appropriate caution, of a prototypical "Jewish mouth," and of a uniquely different "Christian mouth"; of orthodox "Brahmanic genitals" and of their diametric opposites, "tantric genitals." The task of this fascinating study is to elucidate the nature of these mysterious precincts and, above all, to demonstrate how they have come to acquire the special qualities they do. In order to do this, the author examines the prophetic moment of a people's cultural ethos, the circumstances surrounding that point in time during which their dominant faith acquired its characteristic "orifice signature"; and second, to the organizational matters concerning that faith, its boundary concerns, internal hierarchies and disputes, and the external market situation. The author aims to show how the social regulation of bodily orifices is, if not mechanically determined, at least made understandable in light of religious and theological concerns. These are examined through a social science lens that offers amply illustrated, detailed, cross-cultural studies of orifice taboos in Christianity, ancient Judaism, Brahmanism, tantric Hinduism, and some tribal cultures. Aho's argument will add support for the theory that orifices are at the center of all political and religious disputes. James Aho is professor of sociology at Idaho State University. Among his earlier books are two celebrated studies of survivalist and hate groups in the northwest, The Politics of Righteousness and This Thing of Darkness.
In This Thing of Darkness, Aho attempts to understand the making and breaking of domestic enemies foreign and in general. He considers enemies as social products rather than psychological phenomena.
A critical history of the sociologies of conflict of Lester Ward, Albion Small, Robert Park, and Arthur Bentley all of whom fell under the influence of German sociologists who explicitly approached the study of conflict from the perspective of realpolitik.
There's no faster or easier way to stay informed! The Year Book of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery brings you abstracts of articles carefully selected from more than 100 journals worldwide. Expert commentaries evaluate the clinical importance of each article and discuss its application to your practice.
This textbook provides a comprehensive overview of the ways in which the law has impacted on how sport is played, administered and consumed. The author writes in a clear and engaging manner, tracing the origins and sources of this rapidly evolving subject and drawing examples from a wide range of professional and amateur sports to illustrate the important current debates and topics of interest. The book covers a wide-range of topics from participant and non-participant liability, fighting sports and their legality, and liability for stadium safety and disasters. The final section of the book takes in the very latest developments in mass-event sport and the growing but fundamental area of sports commercialisation. New to this Edition: - Fully updated and includes analyses of the Pechstein and Sharapova decisions - Includes details on the state aid rulings on financial support for Spanish and Dutch football clubs - The author includes a review of the Rio 2016 Olympics
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