“Fear and destructiveness are the major emotional sources of fascism, eros belongs mainly to democracy.”

— Theodor W. Adorno , book The Authoritarian Personality

The Authoritarian Personality (1950), p. 976, co-written with Else Frenkel-Brunswik, Daniel Levinson, and Nevitt Sanford

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Theodor W. Adorno 90

German sociologist, philosopher and musicologist known for … 1903–1969

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Context: Personally I'm in favor of democracy, which means that the central institutions in the society have to be under popular control. Now, under capitalism we can't have democracy by definition. Capitalism is a system in which the central institutions of society are in principle under autocratic control. Thus, a corporation or an industry is, if we were to think of it in political terms, fascist; that is, it has tight control at the top and strict obedience has to be established at every level -- there's a little bargaining, a little give and take, but the line of authority is perfectly straightforward. Just as I'm opposed to political fascism, I'm opposed to economic fascism. I think that until major institutions of society are under the popular control of participants and communities, it's pointless to talk about democracy.

“Fascism begins the moment a ruling class, fearing the people may use their political democracy to gain economic democracy, begins to destroy political democracy in order to retain its power of exploitation and special privilege.”

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“Care is a state in which something does matter; care is the opposite of apathy. Care is the necessary source of eros, the source of human tenderness.”

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“Social democracy is objectively the moderate wing of fascism”

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Context: Social democracy is objectively the moderate wing of fascism.... These organisations (ie Fascism and social democracy) are not antipodes, they are twins.

“One thing is sure. Democracy is doomed. This is our last election. It is fascism or communism. We are at the crossroads—I take the road to fascism.”

Charles Coughlin (1891–1979) Catholic priest, radio commentator

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“In a democracy, thumping majorities prevail.”

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“Emotion is the chief source of all becoming-conscious.”

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“Could anything be more inimical to art than a fear of emotion, or a fear of "excessive" emotion, or a reluctance to express emotion around others?”

Caitlín R. Kiernan (1964) writer

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Context: Could anything be more inimical to art than a fear of emotion, or a fear of "excessive" emotion, or a reluctance to express emotion around others? No, of course not. Art can even best the weights of utter fucking ignorance and totalitarian repression, but it cannot survive emotional constipation.
I want a T-shirt that says, "Art is Emo." We live in an age where people are more apt to believe a thing if they read it on a T-shirt.

“Democracy is premised, in some measure, on majority rule, and democracy is difficult in a situation of concentrated inequalities in which a large, impoverished majority confronts a small, wealthy oligarchy.”

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“Fear and destructiveness are the major emotional sources of fascism, eros belongs mainly to democracy.”

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Theodor W. Adorno 90

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