A psychosociology of fascist-type mobilization: Sigmund Freud's Mass Psychology and its relation to the formation of authoritarian movements according to Theodor W. Adorno

• Grant number: 21/01932-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2021
• End date: September 30, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Sociology - Fundamentals of Sociology
• Principal Investigator: Ricardo Musse
• Grantee: Daniel Souza Pavan
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The main objective of this project is to investigate, after a selection of Theodor W. Adorno's works, the adherence to fascist-type movements. Overall, it intends to explore the notion, developed by Adorno in the essay Freudian Theory and the Pattern of Fascist Propaganda, according to which the constitution of such sociopolitical formations would be associated with the production of social bonds based on affective ties involving the leader and the followers. For that matter, the research will begin with a deep study of some of Freud's works, particularly his Mass Psychology and Ego Analysis, given psychoanalysis relevance to Adorno's social theory in what concerns the subject of this research. After that, in its most important part, some of Adorno's works, mostly from the 1940s, will be studied. This comprises theoretical writings, such as the Dialectics of Enlightenment, reflections on psychoanalytical theory and its relation to social research, and empirical studies, such as The Authoritarian Personality. The relevance of this project is justified by the contribution that its results may offer to the international debate on the relations between Critical Theory, populism, and fascism.(AU)