The Oldest Trick in the Book: Panic-Driven Scapegoating in History and Recurring Patterns of Persecution

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This book investigates the normalization of blame-shifting within ideological discourse as a broad feature of history, working from Churchill’s truism that history is written by the victors. It explores historical episodes of political persecution carried out under cover of moral panic, highlighting the process of ‘Othering’ common to each and theorising a model of panic- driven scapegoating from the results. Building on case studies in witch panic, communist panic and terrorist panic respectively, The Oldest Trick in the Book builds an argument that features common to each case study reflect broader historical patterning consistent with Churchill’s maxim. It argues that the periodic construction of bogeymen or ‘folk demons’ is a useful device for enabling the kind of victim-playing and victim-blaming critical to protecting elite privilege during periods of crisis, and so such retains great ongoing value for them. ​“The Oldest Trick in the Book revives the type of radical class orientation that has given so much of classical sociology its analytic power and enduring relevance. Bait and switch scapegoating by elites is indeed a very old trick; but why do we fall for it anew, with each slightly refurbished iteration? Ben Debney’s well-researched, historically rich, and analytically-muscular book answers that question in useful and original ways.” — Christian Parenti, Associate Professor of Economics at John Jay College, City University of New York (CUNY), author of Lockdown America: Police and Prisons in the Age of Crisis and Tropic of Chaos: Climate Change and the New Geography of Violence) “In his daringly sweeping treatise on scapegoating throughout history, Ben Debney reveals the social function of demonisation to be an audacious smoke and mirrors trick: obscuring the real evil of ruling elites while distortedly reflecting it. The Oldest Trick in the Book is a lively and thoughtful offering.” — Scott Poynting, Adjunct Professor, Charles Sturt University and Queensland University of Technology, Australia "The Oldest Trick in the Book takes us on a remarkable journey. Ben Debney perceptively explores the long use and abuse of power and ideology, from the Roman Empire to Red Scares, Witch Hunts to Islamophobia. The power of the One Percent, he shows us, depends on convincing the rest of us to accept the demonization of the Enemy: unruly women, treacherous communists, Islamic terrorists. It is to Debney’s great credit that he reveals scapegoating’s long history as pillars of rule, and strategies of cultural and material violence directed at the oppressed and exploited. The Oldest Trick in the Book is a necessary contribution to unmasking modernity’s binary code and pointing the way towards a more just and sustainable future.”a — Jason W. Moore, Professor of Sociology, Binghamton University. Author, Capitalism in the Web of Life Acknowledgments Introduction: Scapegoating Doth Never Prosper Contents Abbreviations Chapter 1 Theorising Panic-Driven Scapegoating Modelling Panic-Driven Scapegoating Modelling Panic-Driven Scapegoating I: Deviance Production Modelling Panic-Driven Scapegoating II: Moral Panic as a Social Relation Chapter 2 Patterning Moral Panics Patterning Moral Panics I: The Crucible Patterning Moral Panics II: Nineteen Eighty-Four Patterning Moral Panics III: The Rise of Propaganda Patterning Moral Panics IV: Imaginary Hobgoblins and the Paranoid Style Chapter 3 Features of Scapegoating Features of Scapegoating I: Moral Disengagement Features of Scapegoating II: The False Dilemma Features of Scapegoating III: Cultural Priming Chapter 4 Modelling Patterns of Scapegoating Modelling Patterns of Scapegoating I: Elites, the Grassroots and Interest Groups Modelling Patterns of Scapegoating II: The Gleiwitz Incident Case Studies Chapter 5 Case Study I: Witch Panic Mobilisation Phase: Self-Interestedly Framing the Parameters of Crisis Flood, Famine, Pestilence and Death Targeting Phase: Constructing Targets for Scapegoating Through the Production of Deviance Heresy Plus Magic The Council of Basel Closing the Plothole: Flying Ointment Legitimation Phase: Constructing a Pretext Through Moral Disengagement for the Persecution of Scapegoats The Permanent Victim Complex and Righteous Persecution The Ancient Fantasy as the Germ of Permanent Victimhood Acculturation to the Ancient Fantasy The Ancient Fantasy Infects Heinrich Kramer Persecution Phase: Crisis Leveraging Through Scapegoating Valais Witch Trials Trier Witch Trials Lancashire Witch Trials The East Berwick Witch Trials Restoration Phase: The Beneficiaries of Moral Panic Collect Witchcraft and Feudalism The Watershed The Secret History of Primitive Accumulation Conclusion Birth of the Panic-Driven Scapegoating Archetype Chapter 6 Case Study 2: Communist Panic Mobilisation Phase: Self-interestedly Framing the Parameters of Crisis Red Scare I (1919–1929) Red Scare II (1946–1954) Cold War (1947–1991) Targeting Phase: Constructing Targets for Scapegoating Through the Production of Deviance Red Scare I (1919–1929) Red Scare II (1946–1954) Cold War (1947–1991) The Truman Doctrine Legitimation Phase: Constructing a Pretext Through Moral Disengagement for the Persecution of Scapegoats Red Scare I (1919–1920) The Committee on Public Information Red Scare II (1946–1954) Cold War (1947–1991) Persecution Phase: Crisis Leveraging Through Scapegoating Red Scare I (1919–1929) Red Scare II (1946–1954) ‘McCarthyism’ Cold War (1947–1991) The Communist Conspiracy Theory in Guatemala The Role of PR in Guatemala The Communist Conspiracy Theory in Chile The Communist Conspiracy Theory in Asia Restoration Phase: The Beneficiaries of Moral Panic Collect Corporate Personhood Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad (1886) A Meeting of Paternalisms and the Great National Safety Valve The American Moment and the Grand Area The Dollar Gap The 1948 War Scare Conclusion Chapter 7 Case Study III: Terrorist Panic Mobilisation Phase: Self-Interestedly Framing the Parameters of Crisis Targeting Phase: Constructing Targets for Scapegoating Through the Production of Deviance Legitimation Phase: Constructing a Pretext Through Moral Disengagement for the Persecution of Scapegoats ‘Transmission Belts’ and the Schultz Doctrine Persecution Phase: Crisis Leveraging Through Scapegoating Communist Terrorist Conspiracy Moves from Chile to Afghanistan Al-Qaeda Restoration Phase: The Beneficiaries of Moral Panic Collect Die for Oil, Sucker 1973 Oil Crisis and the Nixon Shock Preparing for Oil War Project for the New American Century The Sacred Principle Pentagon Capitalism Conclusion Chapter 8 Conclusion: Scapegoating Doth Ever Prosper Summary of Findings from Analytical Criteria The Imperial Peace The Capitalist Peace Bibliography Index