On the Edge: Political Cults Right and Left (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Tim Wohlforth (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This study aims to document the extent of political cults on both the left and right, and explain their significance for mainstream political organizations. It outlines the defining characteristics of cults in general, and analyzes the extent to which they fall within their cult status.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 246 pages
• Publisher: M.E. Sharpe (September 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765606399
• ISBN-13: 978-0765606396
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,965,738 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What Lyndon LaRouche is All About, January 5, 2001

By	Werner Cohn (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The misdeeds of cultists like Lyndon LaRouche and Fred Newman should be better known, and here is the book that deals with them authoritatively. (One of Newman's followers, Lenora Fulani, is actually a bit of a menace because of her promotion of fringe candidates like Buchanan and Ross Perot). The book also gives juicy details about some of the Trotskyist groups, mainly in England. But when it comes to right-wing extremists, the book is less authoritative. And the theoretical discussions, borrowing from social science speculations, are fairly weak.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and Scary, August 4, 2001

By	Phillip Clampitt - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The authors explain the lure of cults while surveying a wide-range of cultic movements. They succeed at this very difficult task. They adroitly integrate classic scholarship about "mind-control" into their narratives. Their decision to focus on the commonalities between cults from the right and left bolsters their fundamental arguments about the importance of thoughtful debate. The book is wonderfully written and provides a glimpse into the mindset of some rather scary people. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in cults or how social scientific principles apply to the "real world". I don't recommend it to aspiring cult leaders. They may learn too much!

4.0 out of 5 stars Extremist Political Groups Functioning As Cults, August 5, 2007

By	Chris Luallen (Nashville, Tennessee) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a very idealistic young person I was involved in radical left wing political activism. But, over time, I became increasingly disillusioned about "the movement" and some of the people I was involved with. This is because some activists, especially among the more extreme, tend to get caught up in dogmatic rhetoric and "group think" - basically insisting that everyone think and act the same. I, on the other hand, did my best to keep an open mind and to look at all sides of an issue. My goal was always to think for myself and to seek what was true, regardless of ideology. Obviously, this sort of individualism didn't go over well with some of my more dogmatic associates and I gradually found myself dropping out of "the movement" while still maintaining many ideas that would be considered ultra liberal, or even radical, by the mainstream.

Because of my own experiences I was able to recognize that some radical political organizations and fundamentalist religious groups share a commmon tendency towards dogma and "group think". This book does a good job of covering the political groups that have crossed the line into being cults, usually based around a single charmastic leader. The parallels between these political groups and religious cults like the Moonies and Aum is striking.

The book covers both leftist and rightist political cults. But co-writer Wolforth's experience, as a member of the "Democratic Socialists of America," is clearly on the left. Therefore the writers are able to tell some fascinating stories about the history of Marxist-Lennist cult leaders like Marlene Dixon and Gino Perente, Perente was also a big fan of Stalin by the way. The writers clearly have less of an insider's knowledge about racist right wing groups such as Aryan Nations and Posse Comitatus. But they are still able to make a convincing case that the racist organizations and miltias have their own cultic tendencies.

The authors write with passion about this overlooked topic. But, unfortunately, their arguments are often based on overly simplistic footnotes they have gathered from other books. For instance, they repeat Joel Dyer's weak claim that the rise of racist groups is due to the decline of the family farm in America. This may be one factor. But I believe it is a relatively minor one. America has a long history of racism and these racist groups date back at least as far as the Ku Klux Klan of the post Civil War era. Even among modern racists you don't have all these urban skinheads beating up and even murdering gays, blacks, Jews and immigrants because they miss life on the old family farm. Furthermore the writers miss out on some of the details and make incorrect statements. For example, they describe Williams College as being an Ivy League school. Of course, it is not. So that's why I am giving the book 4 stars instead of 5 stars. Still I found it to be a very interesting read and would recommend it to anyone interested in the subject matter.