Embrace of authoritarianism in US fueled by culture wars more than economy, study finds

LAWRENCE — Donald Trump famously announced his intention in 2023 to be a dictator “on day one” of his second term in office. Despite the statement’s seeming affront to democracy, a majority of voters were not repelled by it. Many instead embraced it. 

“Words like dictatorship and democracy are formal. They’re not beside the point, but they don’t necessarily get to the crux of what’s happening,” said David Norman Smith, professor of sociology at the University of Kansas.

“It isn’t that people are saying, ‘Oh, we don’t need democracy.’ They’re saying, ‘We do need to fight the culture war.’ If fighting the culture war in a domineering way tramples some of the established traditions, that’s a consequence. But that’s not generally the object.”

Smith and Eric Hanley, KU associate professor of sociology, have contributed a chapter titled “Authoritarianism From Below: Why and How Donald Trump Follows His Followers.” They scrutinize Trump’s assertion that many individuals “like” his talk of dictatorship. And if true, what does it mean empirically? The chapter appears in “The Future of Agency: Between Autonomy and Heteronomy,” which is Vol. 41 of the “Current Perspectives in Social Theory” series published by Emerald Publishing Limited.

“I think it’s better to try to actually understand what’s going on beneath the surface of traditional terms like ‘dictatorship.’ What we’re witnessing, and what we have witnessed for quite some time, is an active wish for domineering leaders who will fight the culture war on behalf of their supporters,” Smith said.

Many of these political tendencies emerged prior to Trump’s presidency. Some are found in the results of the 2012 and 2016 American National Election Studies (ANES), which included survey questions Smith and Hanley proposed that were drawn from the Right-wing Authoritarianism Scale. They learned from this survey that most of Trump’s voters supported him not because they were hurting economically, but because they shared his prejudices and enemies.

“If you scroll through countless Trump speeches over a decade, you will find very few comments that directly address economic issues,” Smith said. “It’s rarely a talking point for him. It’s the culture war. That’s what has really resonated.”

It used to be routinely said that people vote their pocketbook. Democratic Party leadership often echoed such sentiments. Bill Clinton staffers James Carville and George Stephanopoulos became household names in 1992 for introducing the phrase, “It’s the economy, stupid.” 

“The recurring misunderstanding, which was most recently shown by all the discussion about inflation in the latter stages of the last election, is this idea that the economy is number one,” Smith said.

“That was largely the result of a single poll. And polls are fine, but one small poll amid everything else that was happening at that moment gave people who were so disposed an opportunity to cling to an economy narrative. What we found way back in 2012 was that the economy matters greatly, but it matters to everyone. So if you’re trying to distinguish yourself (as a candidate) by voting for or against something, pocketbook issues don’t get you very far.”

What most Trump voters have wanted, Smith said, is Donald Trump and what he represents culturally. That was clear in the 2016 data, and it has been clear in subsequent surveys by the Monmouth University Polling Institute and Morning Consult.

Smith’s interest in this topic goes back a long way. He said he recalled reading a poll concerning Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. Voters were asked, “Do you think Ronald Reagan cares about people like you?” Under 10% of the public said yes. They were then asked, “Do you like Ronald Reagan and what he’s doing?” Around 70% of those same people answered yes, and mainly because they saw him as a strong leader.

“The striking fact that Reagan could be 70% popular in a moment when most people did not really feel he cared about them raised a big question for me,” he said.

A professor at KU since 1990, Smith specializes in the political intersections of sociology, psychology and economy. His work often explores the question, “Why do people differ in their attitudes toward democracy and equality?”

While he is quick to discuss the reasons behind Trump’s support, he is not currently predicting how the man’s presidency and legacy will play out.

Smith said, “I’m reminded of something I heard Trump tell TV journalist Megyn Kelly in an interview back in early 2016. She asked him, ‘If there’s one thing we should know about you, what would you say it is?’ He said, ‘I go hard.’ I think we know by now that he is charging ahead, and he’s waiting to see what the consequences will be. He’s always had a gambler’s mentality.”