Presence of Left-Wing Authoritarianism in Western Europe and Its Relationship with Conservative Ideology

The significance of this essay is to give differing perspectives on the issue of left-wing authoritarianism and how it not only appears on the political stage, but also in recent research on political extremism. It is also worth noting that, while the characteristic of authoritarianism is indicative of one end of the political spectrum, it may also be a prevalent proverb on both ends of the political spectrum (Van Hiel, Duriez & Kossowska, 2006). According to the article, left-wing authoritarians are those who hold conservative views on liberal issues. From the article, it comes apparent that Left-wing authoritarians are persons that are extremely traditional to liberal thoughts and are simply hostile to people that oppose left-wing philosophy.

Do results support the authors’ assertions?

The results contradict the author’s assertions because of how it related with the right wing. In short, according to the author, LWA support the established ways and stand opposed to social and political change. At that point, it becomes intricate to describe political viewpoints in terms of the left or right because trying to understand what makes certain viewpoints extreme may seem fallacious. While the study demonstrates proficient reliability and validity of Left-wing Authoritarians (LWA), however, the evidence of LWA is also lacking at some point. This is therefore highly likely to culminate into the dismissal of the existence of LWA.

The Follow-up Logical Study

The follow-up logical study should be geared towards validating a two-pronged aggressive submission of LWA. The most likely reason to why the study fails to detect LWA authoritarianism lies in the use of sample voters. As such, the follow-up study should comprise divergent dimensions in a political activist sample. Furthermore, the study should integrate anarchists in its sample to authenticate the two thronged scale. While communists are more likely to get a higher score when it comes to aggression and submission than activism that stems from other political contraptions, anarchists are more likely to outdo authoritarian aggression with a high score (Van Hiel, Duriez & Kossowska, 2006).

References

Van Hiel, A., Duriez, B., & Kossowska, M. (2006). The presence of left‐wing authoritarianism in Western Europe and its relationship with conservative ideology. Political Psychology, 27(5), 769-793.