I want to find out if Wilhelm Reich's theory about where fascism comes from is true. This isn't a scientific survey so regardless of the results I still won't really know, but I suppose it's still better than nothing. I'm also not an academic so I can't get access to research grants, and I'm not sure anyone would pay for a study like this to begin with (correct me if I'm wrong).
Wilhelm Reich, in The Mass Psychology of Fascism, basically says that fascists are created by two factors: severe economic exploitation / anxiety on the part of the petite bourgeoisie, combined with severe child abuse. Reich believes that the abuse takes place while people are too young to remember it (and/or that the memories may be suppressed), but I imagine that it could have easily continued afterward. (Others who understand Reich better than me, again: correct me if I'm wrong.)
-
Do you believe that you experienced severe abuse or neglect from your parents or guardians?
-
Do you come from a petite bourgeois family? (Do your parents own their home, but still have to work in order to survive?)
Could be, she did buy lots of stuff all the time. I don't know what happened with her parents, it was always kept between them. From what I gather it was some thing that happened some time in the 80s (maybe?) Or it might have been just a bad relationship in general. You could be right but I can't be certain, the way things are going it seems like she'll take whatever the problem is to her grave.