The ruled adore the ideology that enslaves them more ardently than the rulers do

Evidence

As naturally as the ruled always took the morality imposed upon them more seriously than did the rulers themselves, the deceived masses are today captivated by the myth of success even more than the successful are. Immovably, they insist on the very ideology which enslaves them. The misplaced love of the common people for the wrong which is done them is a greater force than the cunning of the authorities. — Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 104

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: This is the deepest paradox in the chapter: domination is sustained less by ruling cunning than by the oppressed demanding their own subjugation — an idea with enormous reach beyond media criticism.
• XREF: Echoes the famous Gramsci/consent line via Burns and also anticipates the notion of the ‘servile conscience’ in later critical theory. — connects to: Those in power don’t believe their own ideology; only the ruled do. — Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 51; Enlightenment-era cruelty shifts from rulers onto the ruled.; Enslaved people claimed the masters’ own ideals more seriously than their masters did (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Enslaved people claimed the masters’ own ideals more seriously than their masters did #corroborates (0.95)
• Ruling-class philosophy subordinates masses without positively transforming their thought #expands (0.78) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1504