2021/11/16 by Moira Weigel · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Cinema and Media Studies #Critical Theory and Philosophy #Cybernetics and Technology in Society
paper · doi:10.1086/717511
openalex publication_date 2021/11/16 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/14
This essay reframes the significance of the Authoritarian Personality study for the “fascism debates” and for the rapidly growing field of research on digitally mediated right-wing movements by rereading Theodor Adorno as a theorist of algorithms. Positing that the advent of “the society of algorithms” has transformed the nature of both authoritarianism and of personality, it returns to two empirical texts where Adorno analyzes two methods of classification and prediction: the “Types and Syndromes” chapter of The Authoritarian Personality, and Adorno’s content analysis of the Los Angeles Times astrology column, Stars Down to Earth. On the basis of these texts, this essay formulates some initial hypotheses about certain widely observed changes in the character of the right and sketches a program for a critical data science inspired by Adorno’s “critical typology” that could undertake further investigation. Finally, it proposes the “systems update” as a concept useful for understanding the relationship of contemporary right-wing movements to both digital media and historical fascism.