2/27 Law School's Mitchell Lecture "The Protestant Work Ethic and the Roots of Populist Authoritarianism"

[Undergraduate Law BA]

Please join us for the Law School's spring Mitchell Lecture delivered by the renowned philosopher Elizabeth Anderson (University of Michigan) on Friday, February 27, at 2:30pm, in the Charles B. Sears Law Library. https://www.law.buffalo.edu/news/mitchell.html

Prof. Anderson will be speaking on The Protestant Work Ethic and the Roots of Populist Authoritarianism, which promises to be timely and relevant, with the following abstract:

The U.S. today faces a crisis of democratic backsliding spurred by a right-wing populist political movement. Common ways of understanding why this is happening fail to answer some critical questions. How can right-wing populist leaders claim to be in favor of the working class, yet retain the latter's support even when they support policies favoring plutocrats and undermine institutions designed to empower workers? Why are the richest leaders of U.S. technology companies, famous for their secular libertarianism, politically aligned with Christian nationalists who want to impose their socially conservative views on others? Why are they increasingly attracted to authoritarian politics, even though this means they must subordinate themselves to the arbitrary rule of the President? I shall show how the answers to these questions become clear once we see that right-wing populist politics is rooted in an authoritarian version of the Protestant work ethic, and grasp the social psychology of submission in authoritarian regimes.

After the talk, Professors Matthew Dimick, Tico Taussig-Rubbo, and Seval Yildirim will join Anderson to discuss the ideas presented. A reception will follow in the reading room.

For more information and a detailed schedule of the afternoon, please see the attached flier and take a moment to register: https://www.law.buffalo.edu/news/mitche ... gistration

Flyer for Spring 2026 Mitchell Lecture.pdf

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