| Sumario: | This article focuses on the relation between "authoritarianism" and social class. The relation between authoritarianism and social class remains obscure. In some early formulations, the "authoritarian personality" was conceived chiefly in connection with middle-class support for fascist movements. Some recent research bias supported the asserted connection between authoritarianism and membership in the middle-class. The differences between working and middle-class authoritarian responses vary considerably, depending on the kind of question asked. Working-class men appear markedly more authoritarian on questions specifically designed to tap the psychological syndrome of authoritarianism. They are less sharply differentiated from middle-class respondents on questions that deal more directly with political and social issues. Perhaps discussion of authoritarianism in "class" terms should give way to more specific analyses, focusing more directly on the variables thought to influence the development of authoritarianism, such as economic and status insecurity, work dissatisfaction, lack of education, autocratic family structure and the like.
|
|---|