''Conservatives without Conscience'' is a book written by
John Dean
John Wesley Dean III (born October 14, 1938) is an American former attorney who served as White House Counsel for U.S. President Richard Nixon from July 1970 until April 1973. Dean is known for his role in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal ...
, who served as
White House Counsel
The White House counsel is a senior staff appointee of the president of the United States whose role is to advise the president on all legal issues concerning the president and their administration. The White House counsel also oversees the Of ...
under
U.S. President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was t ...
and then helped to break the
Watergate scandal
The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...
with his testimony before the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and ...
. The book analyzes the evolution of the
Republican Party, and the different forms of
conservatism
Conservatism is a Philosophy of culture, cultural, Social philosophy, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in r ...
, largely in terms of
authoritarian personality
The authoritarian personality is a personality type characterized by a disposition to treat authority figures with unquestioning obedience and respect. Conceptually, the term ''authoritarian personality'' originated from the writings of Erich Fr ...
. It was published in 2006 by
Viking Press
Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquir ...
.
The book makes extensive use of the research into
right-wing authoritarianism
In psychology, the right-wing authoritarian (RWA) is a personality type that describes somebody who is highly submissive to their authority figures, acts aggressively in the name of said authorities, and is conformist in thought and behavior. Th ...
of
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.[Bob Altemeyer
Robert Anthony Altemeyer (born 6 June 1940) is a retired Professor of Psychology at the University of Manitoba. Altemeyer also produced the right-wing authoritarianism scale, or RWA Scale, as well as the related left-wing authoritarianism scale, ...](_blank)
. The title is a play on ''
The Conscience of a Conservative
''The Conscience of a Conservative'' is a 1960 book published under the name of Arizona United States Senate, Senator Barry Goldwater who was the 1964 Republican Party (United States), Republican presidential candidate. It helped revive the Conse ...
'', a seminal book attributed to the Republican nominee in the
1964 presidential campaign, U.S. Senator
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the United States Republican Party, Republ ...
, but ghostwritten by
L. Brent Bozell Jr.
Leo Brent Bozell Jr. (; January 15, 1926 – April 15, 1997) was an American conservative activist and Roman Catholic writer, and former US Merchant Marine. He was a conservative Catholic, and a strong supporter of the anti-abortion movement. ...
Dean claims that he and Goldwater had planned to write such a book in the 1980s in response to their disaffection with the
Religious Right.
External links
Conservatives without Consciencefrom
Viking Press
Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquir ...
People's Weekly World review*Th
Authoritarian Social Dominatorsidentified by John Dean
Presentation by Dean on ''Conservatives Without Conscience'', July 13, 2006 C-SPAN
Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United Stat ...
Presentation by Dean on ''Conservatives Without Conscience'', September 5, 2006 C-SPAN
Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United Stat ...
2006 non-fiction books
Books about politics of the United States
Books critical of conservatism in the United States
English-language books
Viking Press books
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