Adorno’s pseudo-conservative distinction added psychological depth to the political concept of conservatism

Evidence

The significance of Adorno’s distinction between conservatism and pseudo-conservatism lay in the fact that he was attempting to give the political and economic concept of conservatism some psychological depth. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 1587

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies the conservatism vs pseudo-conservatism distinction Adorno drew against the Berkeley staff, which is important for understanding the F-scale’s targeted population.
• XREF: Mirrors the earlier claim that an authoritarian personality could be publicly socialist yet convert readily to Nazism. — connects to: Conservatism is often a rationalization of unconscious destructive impulses — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1585; Adorno adapted Fromm’s rebel-revolutionary split into a pseudo-conservative versus conservative split — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1588; Pseudo-conservatism masked destructive impulses beneath conventional values, unlike genuine conservatism — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1800 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Adorno adapted Fromm’s rebel-revolutionary split into a pseudo-conservative versus conservative split #corroborates (0.85) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 1588
• Pseudo-conservatism masked destructive impulses beneath conventional values, unlike genuine conservatism #expands (0.85) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 1800
• Pseudoconservatives misdirect resentment at democratic form rather than economic inequality #expands (0.80) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 1797