West German students showed more authoritarian than democratic latent political potential

Evidence

With regard to political disposition, the main types found were: unpolitical, irrationally distanced, rationally distanced, naïve citizens, thoughtful citizens, and committed. The types of political tendency found were: genuine democrats, formal democrats, authoritarians, and those who were indifferent. The views of society typified were: those of the declining academic middle class, of inward values, of the intellectual élite, of social equality, and of the middle class in general. The point was now that, so far as political disposition and political tendency were ideologically stabilized by a corresponding view of society, it would be possible to draw conclusions about the implied political potential that extended beyond the status quo. If one assumed that a deep-seated democratic tendency was present when the political disposition of a committed person or of a thoughtful citizen coincided with a genuinely democratic tendency and a social-equality view of society, only 4 per cent of all those questioned were stable democrats. … By contrast, 6 per cent of the sample were stubborn authoritarians, those whose political dispositions of commitment or thoughtful citizenship were combined with an authoritarian political tendency and an élitist view of society11 of the 37 who had been classed as authoritarian' in terms of political tendency. When the criteria were relaxed, the proportions did not become more favourable. A definitely democratic potential’ of 9 per cent contrasted with a definitely authoritarian potential' of 16 per cent. In the centre, equal proportions tended towards the authoritarian side and towards the democratic side. Those of the students questioned who showed authoritarian potential came more often from homes with an academic tradition, and those who showed democratic potential came more often from homes without any academic tradition. … The conclusion was therefore: According to these findings, the group which is weaker in any casethe one which is fundamentally and definitely committed to defending democracy in a crisis, using appropriate meanswill additionally be hindered by the fact that, to a greater extent than the group with authoritarian potential, it will later on remain restricted to the modest room for manoeuvre afforded by the role of a mere citizen.’ — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 2349

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to Adorno’s Authoritarian Personality and to the Frankfurt School’s empirical sociology strand elsewhere in this book. — connects to: West German political attitudes measured 16 percent positive and 44 percent negative — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1888; A fifth of German proletarian party supporters held authoritarian attitudes — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 709; Postwar West Germans showed mostly negative or ambivalent attitudes toward democratic values — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1888 (+3 more)
• SEED: Angle: the democratic minority is not only weaker but structurally disadvantaged — fewer career prospects — an argument that social position itself suppresses democratic agency.

Broader Connections

• Student self-labeled socialists show authoritarian tendencies that adult socialists lack #expands (0.80)
• University education lowers authoritarianism, most among high scorers #qualifies (0.75) — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 1109
• Education rather than raw intelligence lowers authoritarianism scores #qualifies (0.72) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 626