Conservative author Anne Applebaum examines authoritarianism, visible in both parties but predominantly represented by the previous president. She makes some excellent points about current media and historical authoritarians, and reaches a good conclusion.

Authoritarianism is a tendency, held by a percentage of humans worldwide. It takes different forms in different parties and situations. The definition the author settles on -

“Authoritarianism appeals, simply, to people who cannot tolerate complexity: there is nothing intrinsically “left-wing” or “right-wing” about this instinct at all. It is anti-pluralist. It is suspicious of people with different ideas. It is allergic to fierce debates. Whether those who have it ultimately derive their politics from Marxism or nationalism is irrelevant. It is a frame of mind, not a set of ideas.”

Through examining history in Poland, the UK and the US, and finally France (Dreyfus), she looks at both when authoritarianism has held sway and what techniques have been used to promote it. This last is especially interesting in the recent administration and their grip on one news source. This results in a muddled section describing how an ideal candidate is packaged for the masses. This seems a little too easy an explanation, and a bit off track - easier to focus on the authoritarian aspects.

In the conclusion, she does come back to those aspects. The definition of country may be the biggest hook of the authoritarian, who in most cases do not like where they live. The majority of Americans do like where we live, and that unity of people, purpose and history may be the key to keeping authoritarians in the background, at least during this generation. History points out that this can be a largely cyclical effect.

I found the book thought provoking, 4 of 5 stars.