The Protocols of the Elders of Zion; first published in Russia around 1905; claimed to be the captured secret protocols from the first Zionist Congress in Basel in 1897 describing a plan by the Jewish people to achieve global domination. While the document has been proven to be fake; much of it plagiarized from satirical anti-Semitic texts; it had a major impact throughout Europe during the first half of the 20th century; particularly in Germany. After World War II; the text was further denounced. Anyone who referred to it as a genuine document was seen as an ignorant hate-monger.Yet there is abundant evidence that The Protocols is resurfacing in many places. The Paranoid Apocalypse re-examines the text’s popularity; investigating why it has persisted; as well as larger questions about the success of conspiracy theories even in the face of claims that they are blatantly counterfactual and irrational. It considers the medieval pre-history of The Protocols; the conditions of its success in the era of early twentieth-century secular modernity; and its post-Holocaust avatars; from the Muslim world to Walmart and Left-wing anti-American radicalism. Contributors argue that the key to The Protocols’ longevity is an apocalyptic paranoia that lays the groundwork not only for the myth’s popularity; but for its implementation as a vehicle for genocide and other brutal acts.
#216253 in Books NYU Press 1984-08-01 1984-08-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.25 x .31 x 6.13l; .38 #File Name: 0814705839122 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Overrated and but has its moments of clarityBy Machiavelli's RevengeNo not as good in its presentation or thematic conclusions. as I remember it being billed in the 1980's. Drew McCoy's "The Elusive Republic" is better researched and argued though at times tedious. I just ordered Lance Banning's "The Jeffersonian Persuasion: The Political Ideology of Republicanism" Should be the best of the three. I highly recommend "The Creation of the American Republic" by Gordon Wood. before reading the above Outstanding writing; analysis. and scholarship First rate History!!! .19 of 20 people found the following review helpful. The triumph of democracy in 1800 explainedBy J. GrattanAppleby's book demonstrates that the ascendancy of the Jeffersonian Republicans in 1800 was in itself perhaps as revolutionary as the War for Independence. The classical republican ideas of rule by virtuous elites; adherence to tradition; deference to superiors; etc all subscribed to by the Federalists were attacked as being contradictory with the aims of the Revolution.Appleby argues very persuasively that the rise of market relations was also very destabilizing to hierarchical social and economic relations. Throughout the 18th century the idea that an economic system in which individuals acted in their own self-interest would yield a result most beneficial to the greater public gained widespread hearings. In the Republican view such a system required property-owning men free from such restraints as tariffs; excise taxes; and any other market interferences which was contrary to the mercantilist ideas of the Federalists.The French Revolution was a catalyst in the formation of Republican political societies in the 1790s where Federalist policies were roundly attacked. Even the successful prosecution of several Republican newspaper editors under the Federalist-backed Sedition Act of 1798 could not stem the attacks on Federalist ideas of privilege and elite control. The author contends that the rise of the Republicans was nothing less than the triumph of an idea of the essential equality of all men.The commercial enterprise in which most colonials were engaged was the production of foodstuffs for the European market. Other enterprises arose to support this increased production by farmers. This very short book ends with the election of 1800 before the rise of industrialism and such distinctions as employer versus employee. A concluding chapter would have been most welcome that addressed the Republican response to a more complex economic world. I did enjoy the book but I do believe that not examinig its ideas in the context of the 19th century is a shortcoming.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Well Worth ReadingBy thomas doerflingerProfessor Appleby incisively demonstrates that Jeffersonian Republicans; though suspicious of aristocratic Federalist merchants; were not anti-capitalist. On the contrary; they espoused an economically optimistic "pro-growth" ideology that celebrated commercial enterprise and agricultural expansion. This optimism was consistent with the widespread prosperity enjoyed by Americans (at least those who were not enslaved) in the 1790s.
