A brief introduction to the unified theory of fascism

Benito Mussolini reviews troops in Ethiopia. Mussolini, Hitler and Trump are all examples of "charismatic leaders" who had the ability to appeal to individuals with neurotic and authoritarian tendencies.

A more expansive treatment of the topic will be featured on this blog in the coming months, and a comprehensive discussion of the topic will be released in book form in 2023. 

    The "Unified theory of fascism" begins with Dr. Karen Horney's concept of the neurotic personality as being split between an idealized and actual self. The frustrated individual is bedeviled by his inability to meet the expectations of the society he lives in. In the case of Trump supporters, the most prominent area of failure has to do with traditional American expectations of the man's role as the family breadwinner, and the general expectation of providing for a comfortable middle-class suburban lifestyle. It is undeniable that many parts of the United States have experienced economic hardship in the last few decades. Manufacturing plant closures and job loss have created difficult conditions for large numbers of Americans. It is not having that experience by itself that makes one neurotic, but how one responds to that stress that demonstrates the difference between the rational and mature individual, and the neurotic authoritarian. 

    During periods of economic anxiety, rational and mature individuals take stock of their condition in life, and find, or create, opportunities to improve their situation, or they will learn to accept their lot in life, and focus on their daily struggles. The neurotic authoritarian will instead develop a "neurotic split", resulting in the division between the idealized and actual self that Horney references in her work. The "idealized self" represents the individual's self-image as he or she would wish to be. The "actual self" represents the individual as he or she really is. The divergence between the person one wishes to be, and the person that one actually is, is magnified by the presence of a high degree of neuroticism and a tendency towards authoritarian thinking. When we use the term "authoritarian", we are referring to the classic definition of authoritarian tendencies outlined by the team of American Jewish Committee researchers that was led by Theodore Adorno in the 1950s, and which was responsible for developing the "F-Scale", which is used for gauging authoritarian tendencies. 

    The difference between the rational and mature individual and the neurotic authoritarian is palpably similar to the difference between the political reformer and the political agitator described by Lowenthal & Guterman. Whereas the political reformer will always seek a practical means of finding relief for a societal problem, the political agitator will seek to increase the malaise of his audience for the purpose of increasing his hold over that audience. The neurotic authoritarian will tend to avoid taking any responsibility for his actions. Just like former President Trump, the neurotic authoritarian never lacks for an excuse as to why he is really the victim in any situation.  He is a man who is fundamentally incapable of admitting when he has done wrong, or of offering anyone a heartfelt apology for his past behavior. The neurotic authoritarian is naturally drawn to the political agitator, because the agitator provides "narratives of frustration", that allow the neurotic authoritarian to avoid the hard work of self-reflection, or taking responsibility for his condition in life. 

    The neurotic authoritarian's experience of a divergence between the idealized self and the actual self constitutes a form of "cognitive dissonance". The idealized self represents the image of ourselves as we would like to be. The actual self represents the person that he is in real life, who has (by his own estimation) failed to live up to society's expectations. The key element of the unified theory of fascism, is that the neurotic authoritarian attempts to rationalize the failures of the actual self through the adoption of conspiracy theories, particularly those which ascribe "evil-doing" to a particular target audience. 

    Historically, the groups that were targeted by conspiracy theories have included Jews, members of Masonic organizations, Catholics, academics and liberals. Trumpist conspiracy theories likewise focus on academics and liberals, (collectively referred to as the "liberal elites") and have sought to maximize the intensity of conspiracy theory driven antipathy with the "Q" conspiracy theory, which holds that leaders of the Democratic Party engage in blood sacrifices and pedophile orgies to grant themselves supernatural powers of influence and longevity. The rationalization of one's personal failures through unquestioned belief in conspiracy theories appears to perform a protective function for the neurotic authoritarian's ego. By portraying himself as the victim of demonic individuals, he may absolve himself of any responsibility for his apparent failures in life. The adoption of conspiracy theories as a mechanism for providing a convenient narrative for preservation of personal ego will hereafter be referred to as "ego maintenance". 

    The adoption of fascist ideology is very much related to the concept of denial which drug addicts and alcoholics experience while refusing to come to terms with their addiction. If the afflicted individual is truly a victim, beset on all sides by a cruel and cunning world, then there is no need for accepting personal responsibility, or for doing the hard work of getting sober, or trying to develop new job skills, or to deal with the complexities of moving to an area where the economy is more prosperous. The adoption of defense mechanisms to try to relieve oneself of suffering is a form of psychological compensation to reduce the experience of cognitive dissonance.  The topic of cognitive dissonance among fascists can be confusing.  The fascist may appear to have an unlimited capacity for cognitive dissonance, because the narratives of frustration which that individual ascribes to often lack consistency, and can often appear irate and opportunistic. Apparent contradictions in narratives of frustration are of limited importance to the fascist, because the primary form of cognitive dissonance is the stress of the personal reckoning that they are so eager to avoid. Cognitive dissonance in narratives of frustration is ignored because those narratives serve the purpose of the ego maintenance function, thereby relieving the fascist of an experience of dissonance that is far more personal, and painful in nature. 

    Fascist movements appear to occur when two factors are present: there is a ready population of individuals who possess neurotic and authoritarian tendencies suffering from acute economic malaise and a sense of personal failure that they lack the maturity or personal initiative to address, and a charismatic leader appears who is prepared to offer up the buffet of conspiracy theories necessary to sustain the neurotic authoritarian audience's need for ego maintenance. Ergo, fascism may be regarded as a form of "mass neurosis". This characterization of how fascist movements occur is entirely consistent with the rise of fascism in Germany and Italy in the inter-war years of the Twentieth Century, and with the rise of Trumpism in 20-oughts America. 

    In the spirit of "never letting a good tragedy go to waste," it is essential that psychiatrists should use the rise of Trumpism as an opportunity to engage in a comprehensive study of fascism. The "unified thoery" described above is a very brief introduction of an approach that seeks to assemble conclusions from Twentieth Century psychologists who have studied fascism and prejudice, to create a greater understanding of the psychological processes of the authoritarian fascist. There is a great deal more work to be done before we reach the American Jewish Committee's goal of "pulling back the curtain" on the nature of the authoritarian mind to help prevent something like the rise of Nazi Germany or Fascist Italy from ever happening again. 

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