Revisiting Authoritarianism
- This article traces the roots of the Authoritarian Personality (AP) project in the neo-Freudian/phenomenological tradition of the Frankfurt School (FS). It focuses on three of its major proponents (Erich Fromm, Theodor Adorno and Herbert Marcuse) and examines the construction of the F-scale. It outlines how, according to FS-influenced scholars, the AP arose from the disciplinary measures inflicted on late 19th and early 20th century German middle-class youth, and details the sado-masochistic political style of the prototypical AP. It covers the critical reception of this characterization and explanation of authoritarianism by Bob Altemeyer and Anglo-American positivism. It concludes by arguing that in overlooking the inner life of the AP, positivism blinds us to compelling truths, about authoritarianism, and also about ourselves.
MetadatenAuthor: | James Aho |
---|
Parent Title (English): | Critical Sociology, Vol. 46, No. 3 (2020), pp. 329-341. [Online ISSN 1569-1632] [doi.org/10.1177/0896920519830749] |
---|
Document Type: | Articles |
---|
Language: | English |
---|
Year of first Publication: | 2020 |
---|
Release Date: | 2024/04/04 |
---|
Format: | to purchase via publisher |
---|
IdNo: | Aho_J_2020 |
---|
Writings about Erich Fromm (Secondary Literature): | Articles / Artikel |
---|
Erich Fromm's Library and Erich Fromm Archive: | Articles / Artikel |
---|
Licence (German): | |
---|