The Stars Down to Earth: And Other Essays on the Irrational Culture » (REV)

Theodor Adorno (1903 - 1969). German philosopher who was a leading member of the Frankfurt School. Adorno led an influential attack on the "culture industry" prevalent in contemporary capitalist society.

The Stars Down to Earth shows us a stunningly prescient Adorno. Haunted by the ugly side of American culture industries he used the different angles provided by each of these three essays to showcase the dangers inherent in modern obsessions with consumption. He engages with some of his most enduring themes in this seminal collection, focusing on the irrational in mass culture - from astrology to new age cults, from anti-semitism to the power of neo-fascist propaganda. He points out that the modern state and market forces serve the interest of capital in its basic form. Stephan Crook's introduction grounds Adorno's arguments firmly in the present where extreme religious and political organizations are commonplace - so commonplace in fact that often we deem them unworthy of our attention. Half a century ago Theodore Adorno not only recognised the dangers, but proclaimed them loudly. We did not listen then. Maybe it is not too late to listen now.

Acknowledgements
Introduction: Adorno and Authoritarian Irrationalism

1 THE STARS DOWN TO EARTH: THE LOS ANGELES TIMES ASTROLOGY COLUMN
Introduction
Basic situation of the column
The column and the astrological magazines
The underlying psychology
Image of the addressee
The bi-phasic approach
Work and pleasure
Adjustment and individuality
Ruggedness and dependence
Categories of human relationships
Conclusion

2 THESE AGAINST OCCULTISM

3 RESEARCH PROJECT ON ANTI-SEMITISM: IDEA OF THE PROJECT

4 ANTI-SEMITISM AND FASCIST PROPAGANDA

Name Index
Subject Index