Theodor W. Adorno Quotes

If you give human beings power over others, their natural tendency is to be fascists.

Extensive and organized power over large populations does not suffice to make a nation

Totalitarianism, if not fought against, could triumph anywhere.

Because Fascism is a lie, it is condemned to literary sterility. And when it is past, it will have no history, except the bloody history of murder.

No state, no government exists. What does in fact exist is a man, or a few men, in power over many men.

There's a certain amount of tyranny in all of us to some extent, and in some people it's much more developed than in others. It's a different balance which makes us all different.

The more complete the despotism, the more smoothly all things move on the surface.

Now comes the reign of iron.

The strength and power of despotism consists wholly in the fear of resistance.

To assume all the powers is not good for anybody. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. All those experiments have a bad ending.

This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector.

You look at the greatest villains in human history, the fascists, the autocrats, they all wanted people to kneel before them because they don't love themselves enough.

Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it.

But Fascism cannot continue in a modified form.

The love of domination and an uncontrolled lust of arbitrary power have prevailed among all nations and perhaps in proportion to the degrees of civilization.

All executive power --- from the reign of ancient kings to the rule of modern dictators --- has the outward appearance of efficiency

this monster, this Colossus of Despotism ... a deep laid scheme to enslave us.

Politics without responsibility IS fascism.

The Fascist State organizes the nation, but leaves a sufficient margin of liberty to the individual; the latter is deprived of all useless and possibly harmful freedom

With the suppression of all political parties, the bases were laid for the totalitarian state.

Fascism is a religion; the twentieth century will be known in history as the century of Fascism.

At times it is necessary for a country to have, for a time, some form or other of dictatorial power..

Their ideology requires them to get power but never give up power.

The political lives of tyrants play out human affairs with a special intensity: the death of a democratic leader long after his retirement is a private matter, but the death of a tyrant is always a political act that reflects the character of his power.

Authoritarianism doesn't fall on a nation like a book falling from a shelf and striking you in the head. It rolls in like a slow tide.