Left-wing progressives can score as authoritarian as right-wing extremists

Evidence

The original authors recognized that high F scores were not necessarily associated with any particular political view and pointed out the existence of low scorers, supporters of “progressive” policies, who were as rigid and totalitarian as extreme high scorers (Adorno et al., 1950). This datum was among the subtle­ ties lost upon later critics and defenders of the work. — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide, 446

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the broader Frankfurt School chapter work on authoritarian personality predicting Nazism, and echoes the reader’s interest in threat-competence scapegoating mechanisms independent of political side. — connects to: A left politics can defend knowledge-based authority against authoritarianism — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished…, 2172; Authoritarianism can manifest on the political left as well as right — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide: The Social…, 446; Right-wing authoritarians show more hostility and dogmatism than left-wingers — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 2960 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Authoritarianism can manifest on the political left as well as right #corroborates (0.96) — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide, 446
• Left-wing authoritarianism is nearly nonexistent in contemporary samples #contradicts (0.90) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 1003
• Extremists of left and right share tough-minded personality traits #expands (0.85) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2336
• People high in left-wing authoritarianism tended also to score high on right-wing authoritarianism #expands (0.80) — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 2897
• Supposed left-wing authoritarians in past movements were probably right-wing wild cards #complicates (0.80)
• Right-wing and left-wing authoritarianism scores correlate positively, not negatively #expands (0.78) — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 2891
• Right-wing authoritarians show more hostility and dogmatism than left-wingers #complicates (0.74) — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 2960