Authoritarian workers could transfer loyalty from socialism to Nazism

Evidence

These people were filled with hate and anger against everyone who had money and who appeared to enjoy life. That part of the socialist platform which aimed at the overthrow of the propertied classes strongly appealed to them. On the other hand, items such as freedom and equality had not the slightest attraction for them, since they willingly obeyed every powerful authority they admired; they liked to control others, in so far as they had the power to do so. Their unreliability finally came into the open at the point when a programme such as that of the National Socialists was offered to them. This programme not only corresponded with the feelings which had made the Socialist programme attractive but also appealed to that side of their nature which Socialism had not satisfied or had unconsciously opposed. In such cases they were transformed from unreliable leftists into convinced National Socialists. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 712

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the ‘authoritarian character’ as one whose hatred of wealth and love of authority can be served equally by socialist or fascist programmes.
• XREF: Connects to Adorno’s later Authoritarian Personality studies and Fromm’s analytical social psychology discussed in this chapter. — connects to: An authoritarian personality could be publicly socialist yet convert readily to Nazism; Mirror-image authoritarians on both Cold War sides would switch allegiances; A degraded working class can turn equally to fascism or communism — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 1373 (+2 more)
• DEEPTHINKING: The key insight that the same psychological trait can serve opposite political programmes depending on which satisfies the underlying drives — hate of the propertied plus submission to authority.

Broader Connections

• Working-class authoritarianism conflicts with fascism’s lower-middle-class narrative #complicates (0.85) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 640
• Mirror-image authoritarians on both Cold War sides would switch allegiances #corroborates (0.82)
• A degraded working class can turn equally to fascism or communism #corroborates (0.78) — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 1373