Fromm goes on to describe thoughts and behaviors which most people use to provide some form of security (Wikipedia).
Authoritarianism: Fromm characterizes the authoritarian personality as containing a sadist element and a masochist element. The authoritarian wishes to gain control over other people in a bid to impose some kind of order on the world, they also wish to submit to the control of some superior force which may come in the guise of a person or an abstract idea.
Destructiveness: Although this bears a similarity to sadism, Fromm argues that the sadist wishes to gain control over something. A destructive personality wishes to destroy something it cannot bring under its control.
Conformity: This process is seen when people unconsciously incorporate the normative beliefs and thought processes of their society and experience them as their own. This allows them to avoid genuine free thinking, which is likely to be anxiety provoking.
In religious communities, acceptance-denial leads to self-doubt in which people begin to experience the anxiety of insecurity. Powerful tendencies arise to escape from the burdens of uncertainty and people will give away their freedoms in order to re-connect with others and find some sense of security. It becomes submission to authority which eases the anxiety. Even when we believe ourselves to be free from obvious authoritarian influences, we are still dominated in our thinking and behaviors by the ideas of "common sense" (social conditioning), the advice of experts and the influence of advertising.
Alfred Adler, psychiatrist, linked "the will to power over others" as a central neurotic trait, usually occurring as an over-reaction to feelings of inferiority and insignificance. Authoritarian Leaders need to maintain control and prove superiority over others, the Followers. In order to accomplish leadership, a person must deny equality, egalitarian philosophies, avoid any sign of empathy and shy away from any form of reconciliation. Authoritarians and their Followers can often fall back on socially acceptable prejudices, blaming and scapegoating minorities, foreigners and those who think for themselves as being the enemies of social order. Clearly, these tendencies are in direct opposition to the concept of Democracy, where an egalitarian structure is necessary.
The Constitution was formed with humanist principles, allowing people to live and let live without undo interference. Although politicians take an oath of office, promising to uphold the Constitution, many ignore their promises for profit and personal power. The politics of America have been transformed from representative leadership to authoritarian dominance, and just as in religious circles, the authoritarian leadership are never to be questioned and they retain a position above the highest laws of government. When religion dominates governments, authoritarians are free to claim that they answer to a higher authority. At this point, all sense government authority, transparency, accountability, and the essence of law and order is lost. Thomas Jefferson knew this very well and incorporated into the Constitution (Amendment 1) that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." Authoritarians would like to see this amendment disappear; for without this limitation they become omnipotent.
In the 1950s' a group of psychologist from the University of California at Berkeley put together a book on the "Authoritarian Personality". Led by Theodor Adorno, they defined the Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) personality type as having nine traits which were believed to cluster together as a result of psychodynamic childhood experiences. The book met with resistance (from authoritarians, of course) and was quickly dismissed as failed science, but it led the way for future researchers to delve even deeper and is still considered a starting point. (Adorno, T. W., et al. (1950). The Authoritarian Personality. New York: Harper & Brothers.
The traits of authoritarians are listed as:
conventionalism
authoritarian submission
authoritarian aggression
anti-intraception (rejection of subjectivity, imagination and the tender minded)
superstition and stereotypy
power and toughness
destructiveness and cynicism
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
1
1
1
