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Non-Fiction

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Democrats_win

(6,539 posts)
Thu Aug 29, 2019, 11:27 AM Aug 2019

The Mass Psychology of Fascism (1933) [View all]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mass_Psychology_of_Fascism

This book was written by a protegee of Freud, Wilhelm Reich

Reich argued that the reason why German Fascism (Nazism) was chosen over Communism was that of increased sexual repression in Germany - as opposed to the somewhat more liberal (post-revolutionary) Russia. As children, members of the (German) proletariat learned from their parents to suppress nearly all sexual desire and - instead - expend the repressed energy into authoritarian idealism. Hence, in adults, any rebellious and sexual impulses experienced would cause fundamental anxiety and - therefore, instead - social control is used to reduce anxiety. Fear of revolt, as well as fear of sexuality, were thus "anchored" in the 'character structure' of the masses (the majority). This influenced the irrationality of the 'people' and allowed (irrational) 'populistic' ideology to flourish...

(Note, Reich moved to the U.S. in 1939 and was a bit on the fringe, making claims that his cloudbuster could make it rain.)
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