''Nazis, Communists, Klansmen, and Others on the Fringe: Political Extremism in America'' is a 1992 book by John George and Laird Wilcox. It is an examination of

politic Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

al extremism of both the far left and

far right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

in the United States. The authors attempt to summarize the pre-1960 historical background of American extremist movements, discuss conspiracy theories and their validity, offer their insight on what motivates extremists, and discuss a number of contemporary groups on the " far left" and "

" based principally on their personal contacts with approximately six hundred individual extremists and the extremists' own writings. It was published by Prometheus Books (Buffalo, New York) in 1992 as a 523-page hardcover (). In 1996, Prometheus Books (Amherst, New York) republished it as ''American Extremists: Militias, Supremacists, Klansmen, Communists and Others'' in a 443-page paperback ({{ISBN, 1-57392-058-4).

Overview

The authors give the history of their personal interest in political extremism. Recognizing their fallibility, and inability to claim "anything approaching complete

objectivity Objectivity can refer to: * Objectivity (philosophy), the property of being independent from perception ** Objectivity (science), the goal of eliminating personal biases in the practice of science ** Journalistic objectivity, encompassing fairne ...

", the authors attempted to "make an honest and diligent attempt to be fair and even-handed in our treatment of this subject." Distinguishing this book from the many covering "extremism" or "extremists" on the market (with their own agenda "to provide a rationale for persecuting or doing away with certain 'extremists'"), the authors' goal was "to provide understanding of a human problem, not a basis for one more round of persecutions." The authors propose a definition of "extremism" based on "the behavioral model" ("defined in terms of certain behaviors, particularly behavior toward other human beings"), passing up the "normative or "

statistical Statistics (from German: ''Statistik'', "description of a state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a scientific, industria ...

" way" (framing the spectrum on a linear scale, a " bell curve") and the "

popularity contest A popularity contest is a real or attributed contest in which the sole criterion for winning is how many votes one gets, such that the winner is the most liked contestant. Although the phrase is often used disparagingly to suggest that some process ...

" theory ("social definition agreed upon by collective

fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

"). The authors describe their position on the political spectrum as "a bit difficult to pin down"; they "might be most accurately described as

pragmatists Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that considers words and thought as tools and instruments for prediction, problem solving, and action (philosophy), action, and rejects the idea that the function of thought is to describe, represent, ...

with

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

tendencies."

Organization

* Preface * Part I. Background, Characteristics, Motivations, and Other Considerations *: Chapter 1. It's Not New: Historical Perspective on American Extremism Prior to 1960 *: Chapter 2. What Is Extremism? Style and Tactics Matter More Than Goals *: Chapter 3. Extremists and

the Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

*: Chapter 4. Motivations: Why They Join, Stay, Leave * Part II. The Far Left *: Chapter 5.

Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...

*: Chapter 6. Socialist Workers Party *: Chapter 7.

Spartacist League The Spartacus League (German: ''Spartakusbund'') was a Marxist revolutionary movement organized in Germany during World War I. It was founded in August 1914 as the "International Group" by Rosa Luxemburg, Karl Liebknecht, Clara Zetkin, and other ...

*: Chapter 8. Workers League *: Chapter 9. '' The Guardian'' *: Chapter 10.

Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Califo ...

*: Chapter 11. Students for a Democratic Society *: Chapter 12. Progressive Labor Party *: Chapter 13. Workers World Party *: Chapter 14.

Communist Party USA (Marxist–Leninist) The Communist Party USA (Marxist–Leninist) was a small American Maoist group founded in 1965 by Los Angeles members of the Provisional Organizing Committee to Reconstitute a Marxist–Leninist Party (POC) around Michael Laski. Laski stated in a ...

*: Chapter 15. Revolutionary Action Movement *: Chapter 16. Revolutionary Communist Party *: Chapter 17. Communist Workers Party *: Chapter 18. All-African People's Revolutionary Party *: Chapter 19.

Marxist–Leninist Party, USA The Marxist–Leninist Party, USA (MLP) was an anti-revisionist Marxist–Leninist communist party arising out of a series of communist and workers' groups that began in 1967 and lasted until 1993 when it dissolved. It was founded as the America ...

* Part III. The Far Right *: Chapter 20. Reverend Billy James Hargis and his Christian Crusade *: Chapter 21. The John Birch Society: A Plot to Sell Books? *: Chapter 22. ''The

Dan Smoot Howard Smoot, known as Dan Smoot (October 5, 1913 –July 24, 2003), was a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent and a conservative political activist. From 1957 to 1971, he published ''The Dan Smoot Report'', which chronicled alleged communist ...

Report'' *: Chapter 23. " Life Line" *: Chapter 24. The

Church League of America {{Short description, Anti-communist organization The Church League of America was founded in Chicago in 1937 to oppose left-wing and Social Gospel influences in Christian thought in organizations. The group's founders were Frank J. Loesch, a lawyer ...

*: Chapter 25. The Christian Right *: Chapter 26. Willis Carto and Liberty Lobby *: Chapter 27. The Citizens' Councils of America and '' The Councilor'' *: Chapter 28. Robert Bolivar DePugh and the

Minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...

*: Chapter 29. '' Common Sense'' *: Chapter 30. Gerald L. K. Smith and

Christian Nationalist Crusade Christian Nationalist Crusade was an American antisemitic organization which operated from St. Louis, Missouri. Its founder was Gerald L. K. Smith. It sold and distributed, ''inter alia'', '' The International Jew'', and subscribed to the antise ...

*: Chapter 31. The LaRouche Network *: Chapter 32. Jewish Defense League *: Chapter 33. The

Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious and political organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A black nationalist organization, the NOI focuses its attention on the African diaspora, especially on African ...

*: Chapter 34. Assorted Neo-Nazis :::* National Renaissance Party :::* American Nazi Party :::* National Socialist Party of America :::* Neo-Nazi splinters and sects like ::::* America First Committee ::::* American White Nationalist Party ::::* Euro-American Alliance ::::* National Alliance ::::* National Democratic Front ::::* National Socialist League/ World Service ::::* National Socialist Liberation Front ::::*

National Socialist Movement National Socialist Movement may refer to: * Nazi Party, a political movement in Germany * National Socialist Movement (UK, 1962), a British neo-Nazi group * National Socialist Movement (United Kingdom), a British neo-Nazi group active during the lat ...

::::*

National Socialist Vanguard The National Socialist Vanguard is a Neo-Nazi group founded in 1983 and led by Rick Cooper, based in The Dalles, Oregon, US, from about 1998. It has focused its efforts on recruiting high school students. History Rick Cooper (1946–2006) ...

::::* National Socialist White America Party ::::* NSDAP/AO ::::* National Socialist White Workers Party ::::* the Social Nationalist Aryan Peoples Party ::::* SS Action Group, ::::* United White Peoples Party :::* major groups of the 1980s like

Aryan Nations Aryan Nations is a North American antisemitic, neo-Nazi, white supremacist organization that was originally based in Kootenai County, Idaho, about miles (4.4 km) north of the city of Hayden Lake. Richard Girnt Butler founded the group i ...

::::* The Mountain Church of Jesus Christ ::::* The Order ::::*

Posse Comitatus The ''posse comitatus'' (from the Latin for "power of the county/community/guard"), frequently shortened to posse, is in common law a group of people mobilized by the conservator of peace – typically a reeve, sheriff, chief, or another speci ...

::::* White Aryan Resistance ::: Chapter 35. The National States' Rights Party ::: Chapter 36. National Christian Publishers ::: Chapter 37.

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

s * Appendix I. Fake Quotes and Fabricated Documents: A Common Extremist Tactic * Appendix II. Principal Characteristics of the Extremes and the Mainstream in America: A Handy Guide for Extremist Watchers * Index

External links

''American Extremists''
at the publisher's website.
America's Homegrown Extremists
– slideshow by ''

Life magazine ''Life'' was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, ''Life'' was a wide-ranging weekly general-interest ma ...

'' 1992 non-fiction books American political books Prometheus Books books