Fascist ideology represses love because it offers too little to be loved
Evidence
It is one of the basic tenets of fascist leadership to keep primary libidinal energy on an unconscious level so as to divert its manifestations in a way suitable to political ends. The less an objective idea such as religious salvation plays a role in mass formation, and the more mass manipulation becomes the sole aim, the more thoroughly uninhibited love has to be repressed and moulded into obedience. There is too little in the content of fascist ideology that could be loved. — Theodor W. Adorno, The Culture Industry, 190
Categorization
- XREF: The inversion of religious love into obedience echoes Adorno’s critique of Enlightenment rationality elsewhere; also connects to the manipulation-vs-love tension across his work.