Pseudo-rebellions just substitute one irrational authority for another.

Evidence

Here he distinguished between “rebellions,” which simply replace one irrational authority with another without signifying a real change in underlying character, and “revolutions,” which did reflect such a change. The latter, which Fromm admitted were far less frequent, implied an ego strong enough to withstand the blandishments of irrational sado-masochistic authority. In rational, democratic societies, the leaders who did emerge enjoyed an authority based on capability, experience, and disinterestedness rather than metaphysical, innate superiority. Therefore, not all antiauthoritarian impulses were justified. “Rebellions” were pseudo-liberations in which the individual was really seeking a new irrational authority to love, even when he seemed most antagonistic to all authority. The resentful anarchist and the rigid authoritarian were thus not as far apart as they might appear at first glance. This accounted for the sudden embrace of authority that often characterized the seemingly libertarian anarchist. — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination, 421

Categorization

• DEFINE: Fromm’s key distinction between ‘rebellion’ (authority-swap, no character change) and ‘revolution’ (real ego change) is central analytic vocabulary for the whole tradition.
• SEED: A live political observation: the sudden embrace of strongman authority by self-styled libertarians/yearners — directly applicable as an essay angle on contemporary politics.
• DEEPTHINKING: The claim that resentful anarchist and rigid authoritarian are psychologically close, and that some antiauthoritarian impulses are therefore unjustified, cuts against a reflexive liberal intuition and rewards extended reflection.
• XREF: Connects strongly to the classic analysis of the Frankfurt School’s account of authoritarianism later applied to fascism — and to later critiques of ‘revolutionary’ posturing. — connects to: A liberty that stays only an attitude becomes self-imprisoning mimicry, not freedom. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 493; Gesture and claimed rebellion do not constitute genuine freedom. — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 272; The rebel’s pseudo-revolt was a search for new authority, not genuine defiance — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History…, 747

Broader Connections

• The rebel’s pseudo-revolt was a search for new authority, not genuine defiance #corroborates (0.95) — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination, 747
• Gesture and claimed rebellion do not constitute genuine freedom. #corroborates (0.88) — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 272
• A liberty that stays only an attitude becomes self-imprisoning mimicry, not freedom. #corroborates (0.80) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 493