Pseudo-conservatism masked destructive impulses beneath conventional values, unlike genuine conservatism

Evidence

However, in the United States, where conservative' had always described a position belonging to the middle-class, capitalist, democratic campin contrast to Europe, which had once been ruled by aristocratsthe pseudos’ were more likely to be found behind a conservative ideological front than behind a liberal or even pseudo-socialist one. Although Adorno usually used the terms pseudo-conservative', pseudo-liberal’, pseudo-democratic' and even pseudo-socialist’ as synonyms, he introduced the term pseudo-conservatism' specifically to be able to interpret the political and economic views of the interviewees adequately. The pseudo-conservatives’ suffered from a failed identification with conventional values and institutions, and their conservatism and conventionalism merely represented a rationalizing cover for destructive, rebellious impulses. The `genuine conservatives’ had succeeded in making the identification, and this went hand in hand with a devotion to liberal, individualistic forms of capitalism and with serious democratic attitudes and behaviour. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 1800

Categorization

• DEFINE: Distinguishes Adorno’s `pseudo-conservatism’ as a rationalizing cover for rebellion versus genuine conservative identification with liberal capitalism.
• QUESTION: Worth chasing: does this pseudo/genuine conservative distinction anticipate today’s analyses of ressentiment-driven right-wing populism?
• XREF: connects to: Conservatism is often a rationalization of unconscious destructive impulses — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1585; Adorno’s pseudo-conservative distinction added psychological depth to the political concept of conservatism — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1587; Pseudo-historical fall narratives let conservative politics masquerade as ethics — Fredric Jameson, Marxism and Form, 663 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Right-wing authoritarianism is psychological submission, not economic conservatism #expands (0.78) — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 140