The mass psychology of fascismWilhelm Reich

The mass psychology of fascism

by Wilhelm Reich

12mentions
4recommended by
9HN commenters
2012–2026first – last mentioned

44% recommend56% neutral

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What Hacker News says

  • chippy · Jan 30, 2017 · Recommends

    Since we are talking books - You could give The Mass Psychology of Fascism by Wilhelm Reich a read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mass_Psychology_of_Fascism It was banned and burnt by the Nazi's in the 1930's but significantly it was one of several books of the authors…

    on ““The Origins of Totalitarianism“ is out of stock on Amazon” ↗
  • einhverfr · Feb 12, 2014 · Recommends

    …generally a state in miniature. What goes on with the family is a mirror of state power structures (see Elaine Combs-Schilling, "Etching Patriarchal Rule" for some brief discussion of this, but also see "Mass Psychology of Fascism" by Wilhelm Reich for a psychologist's view). So intra-household dynamics are the among the best indications of political power structures in the whole of society. In short, whoever has power at home,…

    on “Widespread sex differences in gene expression in the human brain (2013)” ↗
  • maxbendick · Mar 21, 2022 · Recommends

    …[1] I may be critical, but this is still a great piece from Eco. It's full of insights about fascism, and it succeeds at what it says on the tin. For further reading I highly recommend Wilhelm Reich's Mass Psychology of Fascism [1] Ripped this paragraph almost word-for-word from Anti-Oedipus

    on “Ur-Fascism By Umberto Eco (1995) [pdf]” ↗
  • Der_Einzige · Nov 29, 2024 · Recommends

    …biased by charlatanism. I don't care if a chiropractor is right about some stuff, they're too tainted to listen to... at all... Look at what happened to people who were almost coherent. I actually love "Mass Psychology of Fascism" by Wilhelm Reich. Great explanation of the right-wing fear of sexual pleasure. Too bad he went loony as hell right after: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orgone Or Althussuar killing his wife suddenly…

    on “The Surprisingly Sunny Origins of the Frankfurt School” ↗
  • maxbendick · Oct 2, 2023 · Recommends

    One of my favorite radical psychoanalysts. He has a stellar analysis of fascism in "The Mass-Psychology of Fascism." It's almost frightening how prescient he was not only for it's 1933 publication but for our current day as well. I wish more folks would check him out. His fascination with orgone adds a lot of color…

    on “Wilhelm Reich on Pleasure and the Genesis of Anxiety (2021)” ↗
  • Der_Einzige · Aug 20, 2026 · Mentions

    …(after also defending American segregation for some reason???), Deleuze killed himself. Althusser went crazy and killed his wife. Wilheilm Reich went just as loony related to the "orgone" machine (despite mass psychology of fascism being a decent-ish book). Please just leave this decadent and degenerate misapplication of "philosophy" in the dust-bin where it belongs. Baudrillard is part of this. : https://thephilosophicalsalon.com/the-cia-reads-french-theor...…

    on “Simulacra and Simulation” ↗
  • batista · Jan 23, 2012 · Mentions

    …pointed to some online article for the history of fascism. On top of this, I have read extensively on the subject, from Adorno to Isaiah Berlin, including fringe cases like dr. Wilhelm Reich and his "Mass Psychology of Fascism". I'm not using it as a "general-purpose pejorative" (as in: "oh, the cop hit me in the demonstration, fascism!", or "TSA cupped my privates, oh, the fascism!"). I'm making an exact analogy to the actual…

    on “ACTA will force border searches of laptops, smartphones for pirated content” ↗
  • Sexual repression is the cornerstone of fascist societies. Source: Mass Psychology of Fascism, Wilhelm Reich

    on “Backpage.com seized by U.S. justice authorities” ↗
  • cf141q5325 · Oct 3, 2023 · Mentions

    …burned in New York, at the Gansevoort incinerator, a public incinerator on 25th Street. The material included copies of several of his books, including The Sexual Revolution, Character Analysis and The Mass Psychology of Fascism. Although these had been published in German before Reich ever discussed orgone, he had added mention of it to the English editions, so they were caught by the injunction. Publishing the Mass Psychology…

    on “Wilhelm Reich on Pleasure and the Genesis of Anxiety (2021)” ↗
  • dredmorbius · Oct 4, 2023 · Mentions

    Internet Archive: <https://archive.org/details/wilhelm-reich-the-mass-psycholog...> (full text) Wikipedia: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mass_Psychology_of_Fascism>

    on “Wilhelm Reich on Pleasure and the Genesis of Anxiety (2021)” ↗
  • corinroyal · Jun 26, 2023 · Mentions

    …masses. Only then could we prevent "neurosis" rather than just treat it. Even today the idea of reforming society to prevent mental illness is hugely controversial. They burned his books, including "The Mass Psychology of Fascism" and his seminal "Character Analysis" in what has been called one of the worst instances of book burning in US history at the time. Looks like the burning times are back, eh? He was jailed for refusing…

    on “Ignoring Boys' Emotional Needs Fuels Public Health Risks” ↗
  • cf141q5325 · Oct 3, 2023 · Mentions

    …for arguments sake)? Leaving out the US during McCarthy for a moment to reduce the risk of derailing, totalitarian / authoritarian regimes acting against people criticizing them (here in form of his "Mass Psychology of Fascism" in which he also criticized the communist party and later added his orgon stuff) doesnt tell me much about the author. Enforcing conformity is what they are all about and at the core of the dysfunctional…

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