Fascism’s cohesion rests on overt terror, not just psychic compliance

Evidence

In 1942, when this was written, Horkheimer did not yet despair that such “active resistance” might yet be forthcoming. Here he remained somewhat more optimistic than Pollock. “The eternal system of authoritarian states,” he could write, “though terribly threatening, is no more real than the eternal harmony of the market economy. As the exchange of equivalence was still a shell of inequality, so the fascist plan is already open theft… . The possibility is not less than the despair.” 69 The cement of fascism, he argued, was not merely the psychic compliance of the authoritarian personality, although this was very important. It was also based on the constant and unremitting application of terror and coercion. — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination, 495

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Fascism exploits psychological tendencies rather than being caused by them. — Theodor W. Adorno, The Culture Industry: Selected Essays…, 206; Fascist Italy remained nontotalitarian because its terror was mild and limited; Fascist followers’ masochism is fused with sadistic impulses — Theodor W. Adorno, The Culture Industry: Selected Essays…, 328 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Fascist Italy remained nontotalitarian because its terror was mild and limited #contradicts (0.90)
• Fascism exploits psychological tendencies rather than being caused by them. #responds-to (0.85) — Theodor W. Adorno, The Culture Industry, 206
• Fascist followers’ masochism is fused with sadistic impulses #expands (0.80) — Theodor W. Adorno, The Culture Industry, 328
• Internal fascism is horrifying because its agents are familiar ordinary people #expands (0.78) — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger, 436