Against the Grain

Mass Education and the Authoritarian Mind

Authoritarianism, wrote Erich Fromm, is not just about dominating and controlling others; it’s also about subordinating oneself to a “great” person, institution, or idea. In the eyes of John Elmore, traditional, compulsory mass schooling in the U.S. fosters the development of authoritarian personality characteristics in young people who, later in life, may enable, or actively support, the rise to power of autocrats. (Encore presentation.)

Haworth and Elmore, eds., Out of the Ruins: The Emergence of Radical Informal Learning Spaces PM Press, 2017

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