Prophets of Deceit

Contents

The first chapter, ("The Themes of Agitation"), presents samples of an agitator's diatribe, which might be mistaken as "simply ... the raving of a maniac". Generally agitators rely on core motifs, labeled as "Discontent", "The Opponent", "The Movement" and "The Leader".

"Social Malaise", the second chapter, examines how social malaise or discontent can be manipulated by converting perceived problems into grievances. The response to economic grievances is to say that "too much help is being extended to foreign nations”, that not only are "foreigners taking our money, they also threaten our jobs". Political grievances are addressed by the call to action against international "commitments by the United States government [that] jeopardize political liberties." Media outlets are the source of cultural grievances, and labeled "the enemies of the nation", while other enemies are depicted as morally lax, "a crowd of Marxists, refugees, [and] left-wing internationalists."

The outer world is painted as hostile and filled with enemies in the third chapter ("A Hostile World"). The agitator positions himself as "a bone fide advocate of social change", but in doing so intentionally ”crystallizes and hardens these feelings” of hostility. The remedy is his supposed superior knowledge, which he offers as a shield. He convinces his audience that it needs his guidance because they are victims, cheated by a "comprehensive and carefully planned political conspiracy". He offers himself "a champion of democracy and Christianity", and as the only person who will solve grievances.

Chapter IV, ("The Ruthless Enemy"), outlines how a political enemy, deemed responsible for the audience's suffering, is necessary to the agitator. The enemy is cast as evil, "an alien body in society which has no useful productive function." The next chapter ("The Helpless Enemy”) exposes the ways the enemy is vilified, portrayed as a criminal, degenerate, a low animal, concepts meant to instill loathing. A specific enemy is identified, such as Jews (Chapter VI ("The Enemy as Jew"), though the agitator does not stop there, but frequently "denounces communists, plutocrats, refugees without qualification." A convoluted argument is put forth that Jews are persecuted because they deserve persecution, and furthermore that Jews are the persecutors. Antisemitism is disavowed as the agitator claims to be "a friend of the Jews." Having provided his own definition for the causes of the social malaise, "as a would be leader of a popular movement" he sets goals for improvement in Chapter VII ("A Home for the Homeless"); however his solutions are found to be empty promises. His political or economic goals are motivated by little more than a desire "go one better than the government, his most dangerous competitor."

Followers are provided neither with hope nor positive ideas for change; agitation is historically distinguished by a complete lack of positive change. Chapter VIII ("The Follower") explains that adherents are made to believe the enemy will only be vanquished through means of a movement and by following the leader's dictates. External forces said to threaten American society are emphasized. The size of the movement is quantified, with claims that it consists "75% of the American people". In Chapter IX ("The Leader") he positions himself as someone with special skills, whose interests support theirs, someone who is "one of the plain folk ... yet far above them." Unlike Hitler or Mussolini, who broke with society and abandoned democratic, Chapter X ("Self-Portrait of the Agitator") shows how the American agitator "dares not repudiate established morality and democratic values". Yet the themes, as exposed in the book, do "not prevent him from conveying the principal social tenets of totalitarianism."

In the closing chapter ("What the Listener Heard"), the authors discuss the listener's reactions. They view them as generally drawn to the idea of success, while against "bureaucrats, Jews, congressmen, plutocrats, communists ... He grumbles against the foreigners who come to this country and get good jobs." Löwenthal and Guterman emphasize that American agitators have historically failed to gain traction and are usually marginalized. They warn, however, that under certain circumstances, such as loss of security for the middle class, America should contemplate the "possibility in which a situation will arise in which large numbers of people would be susceptible to his psychological manipulation".

Analysis

Löwenthal and Guterman examined the latent content of the political agitator's speeches and writings, treating and examining them more comprehensively than any other work of the period. They found that agitators typically employ 21 common tactics in their speeches, such as characterizing the enemy as a low animal (i.e. vermin), or building up an image of a folksy "chosen leader who responds to an inner call." They explain the successes of mid-20th century demagogues such as Gerald L. K. Smith, Carl H. Mote, William Dudley Pelley, Joe McWilliams, and Charles Coughlin. The authors' purpose was subject appeal of these messages to a thorough analysis, to inoculate future generations of Americans against demagogues and ideologues – the "prophets of deceit".

The authors define the difference between the goals of an agitator, revolutionary and reformer. The latter seeks social change and has a clear vision of his goals. An agitator seeks rejection of the status quo and instills intolerance against groups or individuals. An agitator presents himself as an advocate for social change with the purpose of defeating the underlying causes of discontent, builds a movement and proclaims himself its leader; he is "in fact, full of reactionary cliches about 'the good old days' and the 'simple American Way which our ancestors loved'." Yet the agitator fails to analyze causes of discontent, but "seems to require only the willingness to relinquish inhibition ... No resentment is too small for the agitator's attention."

Löwenthal and Guterman theorize that right-wing agitation increases social dissatisfaction, while simultaneously hampering rational responses to it. Much of the basis of pro-fascist and antisemitic propaganda appears to be irrational in substance, yet Löwenthal's research revealed that it was planned and calculated to achieve a specific response. Paul Apostolidos writes that Prophets in Deceit "precisely catalogues the techniques used by the agitator to promote irrationalism in his audience." Pro-fascist sentiment in America in the 1940s was not spontaneous, more grounded on long held beliefs, which Löwenthal labeled social malaise.

The authors explain the methods the Christian right use to capitalize on advantage of widespread social malaise. They sow "the suspicion that mysterious social powers are penetrating a 'hoax' on the majority of the people and depriving them of society's fruits". These suspicions create a widespread feeling of helplessness, disillusionment, and fear of disaster. According to Löwenthal and Guterman, the social discontent is real, it "reflects the stresses imposed on the individual by the profound transformations taking place in our economic and social structure – the replacement of the class of small independent producers by gigantic industrial bureaucracies, the decay of the patriarchal family, the breakdown of primary personal ties between individuals in an increasingly mechanized world … the substitution of mass culture for traditional patterns." A political agitator will manipulate existing social discontent, distortion the underlying causes, with in turn results in irrational responses and actions. The agitator will trick and mislead his audience, then through "the guise of protest against the oppressive situation, the agitator binds the audience to it .... The agitator does not create the malaise, but he aggravates and fixates it because he bars the path to overcoming it." Christian right agitation is sophisticated trickery, which cannot and will not provide solutions to the public, but will only cause a "despairing obsession with its own suffering."

Often the message is contradictory and nonsensical, yet based on psychological manipulation. To the majority he "may sound crazy, but he knows, with a knowledge that is largely intuitive, precisely what he is doing. He kindles fury and fear in his audience, yet keeps them in check, reminding them that they "are still weak and can free themselves from the enemy's tyranny only be submitting unconditionally to his leadership." Löwenthal and Guterman demonstrate Adorno's belief that the greatest danger to American democracy is manipulation of mass culture: radio, television, and film. The authors feared a time when an American audience could be manipulated via similar techniques and psychological means.

Reception and legacy

The volume was well received on publication. The New York Times, in 1949, wrote that it is "beyond all doubt the most illuminating study of the techniques and the propaganda of the native American Fascist which has yet appeared." The American Journal of Sociology's review, written by Wrong, mentions that the study falters in its attempt to find exact parallels between America and European fascist dictators, but its value "to American social scientists is not the least of its virtues". Alfred McClung Lee wrote in his review in Public Opinion Quarterly that the "Studies in Prejudice Series" promised to be valuable in the study of intergroup relationships and prejudice, and that "Lowethal and Guterman especially deserve praise for a wise and significant volume". Harvard lecturer Charles Clavey believes the book offers the most striking insights into current illiberal movements such as Trumpism.