Title is a relationship I see brought up a lot when people are trying to figure out what individual compulsions or tendencies might be at the root of fascism, conservatism, etc. I remember Matt Christman bringing up the trauma of WW1 when describing the rise of European fascism and also describing Glenn Beck’s awful Xmas special coming from a trauma-inspired hyper-sentimentality. (The state of Israel seems relevant here too but it feels super obvious and uninteresting to add it)
It makes a kind of intuitive sense to me, this idea that wounded people who lack the emotional vocabulary understand how they are hurt would propagate their trauma onto others and let this drive their politics. But I’m also annoying and therefore cautious of things that make intuitive sense, and this feels a little too “just-so.”
I dunno, this site has a bunch of smarty pantses who have read about more things than funny-looking animals, which is all I know. Has anyone read anything or have anything to share about this relationship? I like a good narrative and it is a very compelling one
I do know that quite a few studies have been done on the relationship between right-wing authoritarian + religious fundamentalist beliefs and head trauma. There is a very clear link between the two. People who have suffered major head injuries oftentimes end up as fascists. I’m not sure why.