Extremism in America.

• Author: Lancaster, Caroline
• Position: Book review

Extremism in America

Edited by George Michael

USA: University Press of Florida, 2013, 356 pages, $74.95, ISBN 9780813044972.

One does not have to look far to be reminded that the most feared form of extremism among Americans today is that of radical Islamists. However, George Michael's edited volume, Extremism in America, unveils a more colorful and diverse reality, one in which far-right anti-abortion activists operate under similar guises as extreme left radical environmentalists; where the Christian Identity Movement allies itself with "jihadists," as a result of fanatical anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism; and where one well-known group--extremist to some--the Tea Party, attempts to infiltrate American society not with bombs but with votes. Extremism in America reminds us not of the sheer differences between extremisms but rather of their remarkable similarities. While their ideologies are undoubtedly heterogeneous, their rhetoric, tactics, and goals are nearly indistinguishable, demonstrating an utter lack of belief that their agendas can be realized within the system.

Michael's introduction overviews the "long tradition" of political extremism in the United States, suggesting even that the nation itself was borne out of extremist ideology, with the colonists' violent rebellion against the British. Michael likewise argues that the "ethnic cleansing" campaigns against the Native Americans, of the post-independence era, is comparable, in some fashion to white-supremacist extremism today, although I would argue that this is little more than an extension of the colonial mindset. An attempt at defining "extremism" follows, borrowing from the social deviance literature, followed by a consensus that extremist ideology is "beyond the pale" and "non-mainstream." Finally, Michael takes a look at a rather puzzling phenomenon. While extremism is not--and never has been--uncommon in the American context, it nonetheless has never taken hold and garnered any significant support, which, according to Michael, is due in part to the form of the American political system: two-party, single member district plurality (SMDP).

A gamut of case studies follows, demonstrating the sheer breadth of American extremisms today and in the recent past. A piece on the Tea Party opens this examination, with Michael convincingly suggesting that this group, although only in its infantile stages, had roots not only back into the 1980s, but even to the 1830s, with the...