Authors: Theodor Adorno, Stephen Crook
ISBN-13: 9780415105675, ISBN-10: 0415105676
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Taylor & Francis, Inc.
Date Published: December 1994
Edition: (Non-applicable)
A collection of key articles on the irrational in mass culture, relevant to the understanding of phenomena such as astrology and New Age cults, the power of neo-fascist propaganda and the psychological basis of popular culture, showing Theodor Adorno at his brilliant and maddening best.
These four essays, originally written between the late 1930s and mid-1950s, examine significant instances of what Adorno calls "irrational" systems of thought in contemporary culture. He analyzes such phenomena as occultism, anti-Semitism, and the relationship between anti-Semitism and fascist thinking. His analysis illustrates common elements in all the systems examined. The lead article, "The Stars Down to Earth," is a content analysis of the astrology column of the Los Angeles Times during a visit Adorno made to the United States in 1953; it sets the tone for the other essays. What is particularly clear from Adorno's examination is the subtle and manipulative nature of such beliefs. The resurgence of extreme religious and political organizations, and the difficulty with which certain patterns of thought seem to die, illustrates the extent to which those ideas have penetrated our culture and the dangers they still hold. Editor Crook's lead-ins to the essays are useful. Recommended for all collections of the history and sociology of contemporary culture and mass movements.-Terry Skeats, Bishop's Univ. Lib., Lennoxville, Quebec
Acknowledgements | ||
Introduction: Adorno and Authoritarian Irrationalism | 1 | |
1 | The Stars Down to Earth: The Los Angeles Times Astrology Column | 34 |
2 | Theses Against Occultism | 128 |
3 | Research Project on Anti-Semitism: Idea of the Project | 135 |
4 | Anti-Semitism and Fascist Propaganda | 162 |
Name Index | 172 | |
Subject Index | 174 |