Is There A Link Between Autism & Extremism? - Prof. Ed Dutton
3/25/20261 hr 7 min
Ed Dutton exposes how autistic traits fuel extreme politics on both woke left and "woke right"
Ed Dutton is back on Heretics with Andrew Gold for an unfiltered, explosive interview that connects the dots between autism, neurodivergence, and the rise of radical politics. Discover how autistic traits — obsessive systematizing, poor theory of mind, low cognitive empathy, black-and-white thinking, and intense need for order — create the perfect psychological profile for extreme activists and leaders on both the woke left (think Greta Thunberg-style crusaders) and the emerging "woke right" (purity-spiraling far-right factions obsessed with grievance and dogma...
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsAndrew Gold· Host0:00
I was thinking about how autism or autistic people have actually shaped our politics, the extremes thereof, quite drastically. On the left, there's the Greta Thunbergs of the world.
Ed Dutton· Guest0:08
How dare you?
Andrew Gold· Host0:09
What is your analysis of this?
Ed Dutton· Guest0:10
They are low in cognitive empathy, i.e., they have difficulty thinking how other people think. Margaret Thatcher was autistic. Why was she so successful? Part of it is the autism.
Andrew Gold· Host0:19
So I think a lot of people think autistic people are almost like psychopaths.
Ed Dutton· Guest0:23
So with regard to you, you don't come across to me as, as high in autism, no. I would assume elements of psychopathy or Machiavellianism. [dramatic music] If you're autistic, everything's just so complicated. You can see how both extremes are attractive. They can become overwhelmed, and that will result in what, what's known colloquially as an autistic meltdown.
Andrew Gold· Host0:40
Some people might say, "Hey, these are superpowers," and other people might say, "No, they're, they're gonna lead us astray."
Ed Dutton· Guest0:44
In times of crisis, that's the kind of person that you need, the person that breaks the rules, that kind of character.
Andrew Gold· Host0:52
Ed Dutton, welcome back to the show. How you doing?
Ed Dutton· Guest0:54
Have we started? I'm sure.
Andrew Gold· Host0:55
Well, we have when I do that, yeah.
Ed Dutton· Guest0:57
All right, we're starting.
Andrew Gold· Host0:57
Yeah. Are you, like, a professor? What are you? You're not a professor, are you?
Ed Dutton· Guest1:00
I am, yeah. I have two honorary professorships, I suppose you'd say.
Andrew Gold· Host1:03
What does that mean, honorary?
Ed Dutton· Guest1:04
Well, well, well, I, it's like it's titular, so, um, are we s- are we, are we, are we on here?
Andrew Gold· Host1:08
Yeah.
Ed Dutton· Guest1:09
Oh. Oh, it's titular, so I'm professor of evolution psychology of business at Aspö University in Poland, and, uh, they made me honorary professor in psychology at the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Andrew Gold· Host1:17
All right. Is that... Have you, like, paid for those?
Ed Dutton· Guest1:19
No.
Andrew Gold· Host1:19
[laughs] Do you do lessons? Do you give classes?
Ed Dutton· Guest1:21
I have done, yeah, yeah.
Andrew Gold· Host1:22
Are you good at it?
Ed Dutton· Guest1:23
I believe so.
Andrew Gold· Host1:24
Good. So that's, there's the qualifications. There's quite a few th- different things I wanna ask you about today, uh, 'cause you've done some fascinating