The Authoritarian Personality and It's Enemies: Wilhelm Reich, Theodor W. Adorno, Alice Miller and Klaus Theweleit

Abstract

The essay presents a reconstruction and critical interpretation of four theories of authoritarian personality related to analysis of fascism. The first theory origins from a book The "Mass Psychology of Fascism" by Wilhelm Reich, published already before the Second World War, the second theory comes from a famous "The Authoritarian Personality" by Theodor W. Adorno. The third was presented by Alice Miller in "For Your Own Good", and the fourth – by Klaus Theweleit in groundbreaking "Male Fantasies". Only one of them, by Miller, refers directly to pedagogy. Nevertheless, the essay presents all four publications in relation to upbringing. The essay raises following questions: what is authoritarian personality? Which elements of education support its development and which prevent it? The theories are presented in relation to each other. Some of their conclusions are consistent, but other present conflicting positions. The dialectical method applied by the author enables to see, among others, how Adorno’s theories are put upside down by Miller, as well as Theweleit, who develops Reich’s ideas. The reconstruction of the dialogue between presented theories enables to put new questions related to the role of authoritarian personality in contemporary times.