Multiculturalism and the politics of guilt: toward a secular theocracy

170 Pages·2002·1.063 MB·English

by  Gottfried, Paul

Multiculturalism
Politics Guilt
and the of

Multiculturalism
Politics Guilt
and the of
Toward a Secular Theocracy
i
i
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Paul Edward Gottfried
University of Missouri Press
Columbia and London
Copyright © 2002 by
The Curators ofthe University ofMissouri
University ofMissouri Press,Columbia,Missouri 65201
Printed and bound in the United States ofAmerica
All rights reserved
5 4 3 2 1 06 05 04 03 02
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gottfried,Paul
Multiculturalism and the politics ofguilt :toward a secular theocracy / Paul
Edward Gottfried.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8262-1417-7 (alk.paper)
1.Political culture—United States. 2. Multiculturalism—United States.
3. Behavior modification—United States. 4. Political correctness—United
States. 5. Pluralism (Social Sciences)—United States. I. Title.
JK1726 .G67 2002
305/.0973—dc21 2002075241
(cid:2)(cid:2)
™ This paper meets the requirements ofthe
American National Standard for Permanence ofPaper
for Printed Library Materials,Z39.48,1984.
Designer:Jennifer Cropp
Typesetter:The Composing Room ofMichigan,Inc.
Printer and binder:The Maple-Vail Manufacturing Group
Typefaces:Minion and Brighton Light
This book is dedicated to Mary,
who heard it all more often than she would have liked.
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Contents
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Acknowledgments ix
Introduction:From the Managerial to the Therapeutic State 1
1.The Death ofSocialism? 17
2.Religious Foundations ofthe Managerial Therapeutic State 39
3.The Managerial as Therapeutic State 71
4.A Sensitized World 101
5.Whither the Populist Right 118
Conclusion:A Secular Theocracy 131
Index 151

Acknowledgments
i
Among those who should be acknowledged for the completion of this
work are family members,friendly critics,and a widening circle ofdebating
partners.To a host ofcareful readers,Professors Robert Weissberg,Claes G.
Ryn,Nino Langiulli,W.Wesley McDonald,James Kurth,Dr.William An-
thony Hay ofthe Foreign Policy Research Institute,Dr.Allan C.Carlson of
the John Howard Center,Drs.David Gordon and Joseph Stromberg ofthe
Ludwig von Mises Institute,and Sam Karnick ofthe Hudson Institute,I wish
to express my thanks for having graciously commented on parts or all ofmy
text.To Drs.John Attarian,A.J.Levine,Chris Woltermann,and David S.
Brown and to Paul Piccone and Gary Ulmen ofTelosmagazine,I am equal-
ly indebted for having held with me often agitated discussions about my pet
peeves and obsessions.To whatever extent my thesis is cogently presented,
it must be at least partly attributed to our encounters.I should also call at-
tention to foreign correspondents,Robert Steuckers in Brussels,Dr.Tomis-
lav Sunic in Zagreb,Eric Werner in Lausanne,and Mark Wegierski in Toronto,
who provided me with materials indispensable for this study.My colleague
Professor Wayne Selcher also rates mention for flooding me with Internet
data, which helped corroborate what otherwise would seem more con-
testable assertions. And without the invariably (to me) generous Earhart
Foundation and the research funds made available to faculty by Elizabeth-
town College,it certainly would have been more difficult to transform my
thoughts into a publishable manuscript.
Above all, I am indebted to my wife, Mary, and to my physician son,
Joseph,for redirecting my venting about political correctness in a produc-
tive direction,namely,a sequel to my earlier work After Liberalism.Either
to protect their ears against my continuing tirades or to save me from the
perils ofhigh blood pressure,both pushed me into embarking on this proj-
ect.Also worthy ofmention is my teenage daughter,Sara,who assisted me
in preparing this manuscript on a computer.Although she loudly protest-
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x Acknowledgments
ed and occasionally insulted me as a computer-ignoramus,her technical
contribution was truly invaluable.I trust the results will disappoint none
of those who came to my aid,willingly or under duress.For the uninter-
ruptedly gloomy character of this book, I alone bear full responsibility
gladly.