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.

Ben M. Debney is a doctoral candidate in History at Western Sydney University, Bankstown, Australia. His research investigates origins and outcomes of capital accumulation as they relate to the climate crisis, focusing on the relationship between ‘primitive accumulation’ and ‘Othering’—typically manifesting as misogyny and racism.

Pre-orders available from Palgrave Macmillan: https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9789811555688