With the help of critical theory around Horkheimer, Adorno, Löwenthal and Marcuse, the lecture will explore the questions of what racism is and why people join anti-democratic movements. Critical theory combines materialist and psychological perspectives. The questions of what distinguishes those who are susceptible to anti-human propaganda from those who appear immune, as well as which people are particularly susceptible to fascism, racism and anti-Semitism, cannot be adequately answered by materialist approaches alone. Because decisive aspects of socialization in late capitalism take place in the subject, psychology - especially Freudian psychoanalysis - becomes a central theoretical point of reference for critical theory. This combination of Marx and Freud, social-theoretical objectivism and psychoanalytical introspection, became characteristic of Critical Theory from the 1930s onwards. However, while early Critical Theory focused its analyses on the critique of anti-Semitism, racism remained under-determined as an independent phenomenon for a long time. It will be shown that the two central references - materialism and psychology - are also important for an analysis and critique of racism. We will also discuss how racism differs from anti-Semitism, which is often misunderstood as a sub-form of racism.

Organizers:
associazione delle talpe
Falken Bremen
Bremen Chamber of Employees