The Origins of Anti-Authoritarianism

This book discusses the ongoing revolution of dignity in human history as the work of ‘humanist outliers’: small groups and individuals dedicated to compassionate social emancipation. It argues that anti-authoritarian revolutions like 1989’s ‘Autumn of the Nations’ succeeded in large part due to cultural and political innovations springing from such small groups.

The author explores the often ingenious ways in which these maladapted and liminal ‘outliers’ forged a cooperative and dialogic mi...