>Even more controversial than his method are his conclusions, which, while
rational, stain the social fabric that passes for modern American
civilization. Hate groups are not an anomaly, he says, but rather a
predictable product of today's society. Akins believes partisan politics,
declining educational standards and religious fervor have combined to
create a movement blossoming with hatred, violence and racism. "These
-- snip
Interesting - but i do not think this argument is limited to the US alone. It pertains to a much broader relationship between a highly volatile capitalist society ("all that is solid melts into the air" as t eold man wrote) and traditional communities. The destruction of the latter by the former leaves some people, especially those with authoritarian personalities (cf. Adorno at al.) permanently uprooted, unable to cognitively adjust to functioning in a modern society, and seeking social relations that would resemble the old social order. Hence their propensity to join groups characterized by extreme rigid-mindedness and rigid hierarchical order (a polar extreme of attitudes required to function in a modern society).
Similar processes can be observed all around the world (e.g. Middle East, Russia, India), where the uprooting of the traditional social structure led to the the emergence of extreme fundamentalist groups. Interestingly, even well-off Western European countries seemt to respond in a similar fashion (growing popularity of claustrophobic nationalism) to the uprooting of their national cultures by multinational corporations.
wojtek