Authoritarian Personality

On Erich Fromm: why he left the Frankfurt school

by Caroline Kamau

Kamau, C. (2012).

Chapter synopsis: 'On Erich Fromm: Why he left the Frankfurt School':

-Biography: Erich Fromm
-Erich... more Chapter synopsis: 'On Erich Fromm: Why he left the Frankfurt School':

-Biography: Erich Fromm
-Erich Fromm was very critical of Freudian psychoanalysis. The Frankfurt School disapproved of that.
-Tension arose between Fromm and Horkheimer/Adorno/Marcuse and other pro-Freudian contemporaries
-Erich Fromm had reservations about the Frankfurt School's desire to merge psychoanalysis with Marxist theory
-Controversy arose over the Frankfurt School's decision not to publish a manuscript that Fromm wrote, with Weiss. This was a report of their landmark authoritarian personality study of 1931. The topic and methodology shaped the Frankfurt School's later research into authoritarianism (e.g. Adorno et al.'s famous studies).

This chapter also discusses Erich Fromm's work post-Frankfurt School:
--Fromm on social neurosis
--Fromm on thoughts as a form of self-presentation or impression management
--Fromm's theoretical focus on self identity, rather than instincts
--Fromm's theory about personality traits
--Fromm on empiricism and psychology versus psychoanalysis

Bringing Authoritarianism Back In: Reification, Latent Prejudice, and Economic Threat

by Eric Royal Lybeck

Published in Logos: A Journal of Modern Society and Culture - http://logosjournal.com/2011/fall_stoner_lybeck/

In this paper we argue that recent research on the emergent Tea Party has failed to pay attention to the important... more In this paper we argue that recent research on the emergent Tea Party has failed to pay attention to the important theoretical insights that can be gleaned from The Authoritarian Personality (Adorno et al 1950). As supporters and critics of the Tea Party vent their accusations of the other side’s “racism,” while analysts try to understand a movement many cannot relate to, the theoretical perspective of authoritarianism provides a useful analytic tool that helps us understand the emergence of racialized sentiments that had previously remained latent. We emphasize the significance of reification in this process, drawing attention to social conditions where preexisting latent prejudice converts into manifest prejudice. Regression analyses confirm the theories of Adorno et al, indicating a strong correlation between authoritarianism and racism. Results also indicate that while economic threat does have an influence on manifest racial attitudes, it is mediated through an underlying authoritarian personality construct.

How to Make Enemies and Influence People: The Totalitarian Mindset

by Alfonso Montuori

Montuori, A. (2005). How to make enemies and influence people. Anatomy of the totalitarian mindset. Futures. The Journal of Policy, Planning, and Future Studies. 37, 18-38.

This essay outlines the characteristics of what I call the ‘totalitarian mindset’. Under certain circumstances, human... more This essay outlines the characteristics of what I call the ‘totalitarian mindset’. Under certain circumstances, human beings engage in patterns of thinking and behavior that are extremely closed and intolerant of difference and pluralism. These patterns of thinking and behaving lead us towards
totalitarian, anti-pluralistic futures. An awareness of how these patterns arise, how individuals and groups can be manipulated through the use of fear, and how totalitarianism plays into the desire in human beings for ‘absolute’ answers and solutions, can be helpful in preventing attempts at
manipulation and from the dangers of actively wanting to succumb to totalitarian, simplistic, black-and-white solutions in times of stress and anxiety. I present a broad outline of an agenda for education for a pluralistic future. The lived experience of pluralism is still largely unfamiliar and
anxiety inducing, and that the phenomenon is generally not understood, with many myths of purity and racial or cultural superiority still prevalent. Finally, as part of that agenda for education, I stress the importance of creativity as an adaptive capacity, an attitude that allows us to see pluralism as an
opportunity for growth and positive change rather than simply conflict.

Il pensiero totalitario

by Alfonso Montuori