Information AboutExtremism |
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Extremism is a term used to describe the actions or Ideologies of individuals or groups outside the perceived political center of a society; or otherwise claimed to violate common standards of '' Ethics and Reciprocity ''. It is usually considered by those to whom it is applied to be a Pejorative term. It is typically used in reference to Political and social Ideologies seen as ''irrational, counterproductive, unjustifiable,'' or otherwise ''unacceptable'' to a Civil society. The term connotes the '' Illegitimacy '' of certain ideas or methods. The terms "extremism" or "extremist" are almost always exonymic—i.e. applied by others rather than by a group labeling itself. Rather than labeling themselves "extremist", those labeled as such tend to see the need for militant ideas or actions in a particular situation. For example, there is no political party that calls itself "right-wing extremist" or "left-wing extremist", and there is no sect of any religion that calls itself "Extremism." RADICALS AS EXTREMISTS The term "extremist" is used to describe groups and individuals who have become '' Radicalized ,'' in some way, even though the term radical originally meant ''to go to the root of'' a (social) problem. The term "radical" is a somewhat less negatively-connoted label sometimes used by Radical individuals or groups to label themselves. The terms "extremist" or "radical" are often used to label those who advocate or use violence against the will of the larger social body, but it is also used by some to describe those who advocate or use violence to enforce the will of the social body, such as a government or majority constituency. Ideology and methodology often become mixed under the single term "extremism". The idea that there is a philosophy of extremism is thought by some to be suspect. Within sociology, several academics who track (and are critical of) extreme right-wing groups have objected to the term "extremist", which was popularized by centrist sociologists in the 1960s and 1970s. As Jerome Himmelstein states the case: "At best this characterization tells us nothing substantive about the people it labels; at worst it paints a false picture." (Himmelstein, p. 7). The act of labeling a person, group or action as "extremist" is sometimes claimed to be a technique to further a political goal—especially by governments seeking to defend the status quo, or political centrists. On the other hand, according to George and Wilcox, the use of the "extremist" label has been historically applied to both the extreme right and extreme left, but they claim that some academics on the left wish to change the frame of reference to one in which only the far right, but not the far left, lies outside the pale of societal acceptability. USES OF THE TERM IN MAINSTREAM POLITICS John Fitzgerald Kennedy paraphrased Dante by saying ''"The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who, in time of moral crisis, maintain their neutrality"'' (from Dante, ''Inferno'', The Divine Comedy ). Barry Goldwater said, ''"Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice; moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue"'' at the 1964 Republican Convention in a phrase attributed to his speechwriter Karl Hess . Robert F. Kennedy said, ''"What is objectionable, what is dangerous about extremists is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents."'' EXTREMISM DEFINED Researcher Laird Wilcox identifies 21 traits of a political extremist in the ''Hoaxer Project Report'': # Character Assassination # Name calling and labeling # Irresponsible sweeping generalizations # Inadequate proof for assertions # Advocacy of Double Standards # View of opponents and critics as essentially evil # Manichean (bipolar) world view # Advocate some degree of Censorship and Repression of their opponents and critics # Identify themselves in terms of who their enemies are # Tendency toward arguments by intimidation # Widely use Slogans , Buzzwords and Thought-terminating Cliché s # Claim some kind of moral or other superiority over others # Doomsday thinking # Tendency to believe that it is justified to do bad things in the service of a supposedly "good" cause # Emphasis on emotional response, as opposed to Reasoning and Logical Analysis # Hypersensitivity and Vigilance # May claim some kind of Supernatural , Mystical or divinely-inspired rationale for their beliefs and actions # Inability to tolerate ambiguity and uncertainty # Groupthink # Personalization of hostility # Assumption that the system is defective if they don't win (full article here ) , the Nation Of Islam , and the Nuclear Disarmament movement. OTHER TERMS The term Subversive is a somewhat obsolescent term which was often used interchangeably with extremist during the Cold War period, although it does not quite mean the same thing. Fringe or "lunatic fringe" have also been used as synonyms for extremist. SEE ALSO
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