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mpaoli's review against another edition
fast-paced
2.0
I was hoping for some in-depth thoughts on the topic. This book was superficial and just read like a one hour talk show.
dlsmall's review against another edition
4.0
I don’t agree with everything that Ben proposes on the day to day, but I agree with the lion’s share of his arguments made here when it comes to our culture today. And not surprisingly, he makes and supports his arguments well, and in rapid-fire fashion.
holodoxa's review against another edition
5.0
The child prodigy turned young gun conservative activist/pundit turned motor-mouth king of the normie Right's internet and podcast space is at it again, minting political content as if it's free MMT money from our U.S. Treasury. This time Shapiro's penned a slender volume called The Authoritarian Moment, essentially a redux of Jonah Goldberg's Liberal Fascism (which I recommend to readers) but designed for a broader audience and updated for the post-Obama/Trump era.
In The Authoritarian Moment, Shapiro argues that through varied mechanisms, especially through "renormalization" or what is sometimes called the heckler's veto, the Left (meaning progressives and social democrats not liberals) have ideologically captured most American institutions (higher ed, Hollywood/TV/news, tech/high finance, etc) and subsequently wield this influence in illiberal fashion against bêtes noires of their choosing, especially conservatives. Although somewhat simplistic for punch and digestibility, I find this a persuasive argument generally. Moreover, the illiberal elements on the Right don't escape criticism either, but probably deserve a deeper discussion from Shapiro; he largely ignores the Catholic integralist and national populist elements that associate with the Right. Shapiro does opine on the causes and possible solutions to the authoritarian phenomenon (with the causes being the really interesting, critical issues), but this is where the commentary can be a bit too thin or without requisite depth.
Shapiro's prose is well organized and incredibly accessible to readers, making The Authoritarian Moment a quick, engaging read. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this to those who regularly consume Shapiro's podcast/writing as the content will be familiar, but I hope some young progressive or liberal or politically interested person picks it up and engages honestly with Shapiro's argument (understanding of course that Shapiro's periodic flamethrowing and acerbic rhetoric may alienate him from this audience). Further, I hope Shapiro's work (whether it enrages or satisfies) inspires further reading into the works that he references throughout. Overall, this is a good entry level work for commentary on current concerning political trends on the Left.
In The Authoritarian Moment, Shapiro argues that through varied mechanisms, especially through "renormalization" or what is sometimes called the heckler's veto, the Left (meaning progressives and social democrats not liberals) have ideologically captured most American institutions (higher ed, Hollywood/TV/news, tech/high finance, etc) and subsequently wield this influence in illiberal fashion against bêtes noires of their choosing, especially conservatives. Although somewhat simplistic for punch and digestibility, I find this a persuasive argument generally. Moreover, the illiberal elements on the Right don't escape criticism either, but probably deserve a deeper discussion from Shapiro; he largely ignores the Catholic integralist and national populist elements that associate with the Right. Shapiro does opine on the causes and possible solutions to the authoritarian phenomenon (with the causes being the really interesting, critical issues), but this is where the commentary can be a bit too thin or without requisite depth.
Shapiro's prose is well organized and incredibly accessible to readers, making The Authoritarian Moment a quick, engaging read. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this to those who regularly consume Shapiro's podcast/writing as the content will be familiar, but I hope some young progressive or liberal or politically interested person picks it up and engages honestly with Shapiro's argument (understanding of course that Shapiro's periodic flamethrowing and acerbic rhetoric may alienate him from this audience). Further, I hope Shapiro's work (whether it enrages or satisfies) inspires further reading into the works that he references throughout. Overall, this is a good entry level work for commentary on current concerning political trends on the Left.
hangry's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
1.0
TLDR: Old man shouts at cloud.
I was hoping this book would provide some insight into the construction of Shapiro's ideology, some sort of shape of how he views "the authoritarian left" that might cause me to challenge or question some ideas I have, but I was disappointed.
I felt a lot of things were covered at a surface level, and not thoroughly explored, criticised or argued for. For example, Shapiro's description of "utilitarian brutality" where people on the left supposedly try to bend human nature to fit the shape of their utopia was an interesting starting point for understanding Shapiro's worldview, but insufficiently substantiated or defined.
This is an issue throughout; honestly, this feels like a book about cancel culture. A lot of Shapiro's points about backlash or retribution from the "authoritarian left" reference twitter experiences, and he never really tells you who the authoritarian left is. AOC gets seven separate mentions. He uses the cancelling example of Justine Sacco (which was much more thoroughly explored in John Ronson's book "So you've Been Publicly Shamed") framing it as a classic example of the power of the "authoritarian left".
As is to be expected from Shapiro I guess, there's a bunch of controversial points in here (in many cases, I would argue he's misrepresenting the facts) which he frames as "truths". There's a whole chapter on people bending science to their political agenda which made my toes curl with irony while hearing him use phrases like "proper biological pronoun". I disagreed with a lot of the stuff he said in this book. He often reframes things, distorts and misrepresents them to fit his opinion and agenda.
I'll end this rant here but let me first note that the worst part of this was that I listened to it via audiobook, and Shapiro does impressions of Trump, Obama and Biden. That was unexpected and not enjoyable.
I was hoping this book would provide some insight into the construction of Shapiro's ideology, some sort of shape of how he views "the authoritarian left" that might cause me to challenge or question some ideas I have, but I was disappointed.
I felt a lot of things were covered at a surface level, and not thoroughly explored, criticised or argued for. For example, Shapiro's description of "utilitarian brutality" where people on the left supposedly try to bend human nature to fit the shape of their utopia was an interesting starting point for understanding Shapiro's worldview, but insufficiently substantiated or defined.
This is an issue throughout; honestly, this feels like a book about cancel culture. A lot of Shapiro's points about backlash or retribution from the "authoritarian left" reference twitter experiences, and he never really tells you who the authoritarian left is. AOC gets seven separate mentions. He uses the cancelling example of Justine Sacco (which was much more thoroughly explored in John Ronson's book "So you've Been Publicly Shamed") framing it as a classic example of the power of the "authoritarian left".
As is to be expected from Shapiro I guess, there's a bunch of controversial points in here (in many cases, I would argue he's misrepresenting the facts) which he frames as "truths". There's a whole chapter on people bending science to their political agenda which made my toes curl with irony while hearing him use phrases like "proper biological pronoun". I disagreed with a lot of the stuff he said in this book. He often reframes things, distorts and misrepresents them to fit his opinion and agenda.
I'll end this rant here but let me first note that the worst part of this was that I listened to it via audiobook, and Shapiro does impressions of Trump, Obama and Biden. That was unexpected and not enjoyable.
that_reader_naomi's review against another edition
2.0
[edit: 12/27. I forgot I read this. I have no idea what was in it. I don't typically recommend books I just forget about.]
I finally finished a political book, Mazal Tov to me I guess.
This was ok. I was very interested in the introduction and first two chapters, and the conclusion “the choice before us” was very well written. However, I’m unsure about the middle chapters sticking with me or main points I can use in my own argument. Good overall: would reccomend.
I finally finished a political book, Mazal Tov to me I guess.
This was ok. I was very interested in the introduction and first two chapters, and the conclusion “the choice before us” was very well written. However, I’m unsure about the middle chapters sticking with me or main points I can use in my own argument. Good overall: would reccomend.