Globe & Intelligencer: The “Unified theory of fascism” begins with Dr. Karen Horney’s concept of the neurotic personality as being split between an idealized and actual self. The frustrated individual is bedeviled by his inability to meet the expectations of the society he lives in. In the case of Trump supporters, the most prominent area of failure has to do with traditional American expectations of the man’s role as the family breadwinner, and the general expectation of providing for a comfortable middle-class suburban lifestyle. It is undeniable that many parts of the United States have experienced economic hardship in the last few decades. Manufacturing plant closures and job loss have created difficult conditions for large numbers of Americans. It is not having that experience by itself that makes one neurotic, but how one responds to that stress that demonstrates the difference between the rational and mature individual, and the neurotic authoritarian.
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