Adorno's Conception of Social Enlightenment in Propaganda Studies: Focusing on the Concept of Democratic Leadership

Abstract

 The purpose of this paper is to examine the propaganda studies written by the German thinker Theodor W. Adorno during his exile in the United States. Thereby it clarifies the influence of his attempts at enlightening the masses, as suggested in his propaganda studies, on the educational theories he published after his return to Germany.

 As is well known, in Dialectic of Enlightenment (co-authored with Max Horkheimer), Adorno expresses skepticism toward reason, making a pessimistic assessment. In his educational theory from the 1950s on, however, he attempts to play an enlightening role toward society, unlike the popular image of Adorno as a harsh critic of modern ideals. In his educational theory, he acts as a guide toward “autonomy,” often based on Kant. Previous studies question Adorno's contradictory attitude, critically discussing the Enlightenment on the one hand and insisting on the necessity of enlightenment for the people on the other. Recent studies, however, have begun to address Adorno's image as an intellectual trying to play an enlightening role in society. From this perspective, Adorno's claims in his educational theory can be seen as one aspect of Adorno as an intellectual.

 What was it that prompted Adorno, who was not an education expert, to become interested in education in the first place? Previous studies have often pointed to the so-called the “Group Experiment” conducted by the Institute for social research between 1950 and 1951 as a stimulus for Adorno to begin his activities as an intellectual. The survey, published in 1955 under the title Group Experiment, revealed the lack of reflection on Nazism and anti-Semitism in postwar Germany and brought to light the problem of “working through the past.” In the face of these problems, it is highly likely that Adorno keenly realized the need for enlightening outreach to the German people. However, his interest in education can be traced back even earlier, to his exile in the United States in the 1940s.

 Therefore, this paper analyzes the propaganda studies approach taken during his years of exile in the U.S., from 1938 to 1949. Specifically, the relationship between educational theory and propaganda research is clarified by examining “The Psychological Technique of Martin Luther Thomas's Radio Address” and several related studies on propaganda research. In doing so, the paper focuses on the concepts of “counterpropaganda” and “democratic leadership,” and thus clarifies the point that Adorno was trying to make people “immune” to propaganda through enlightening the public, in order to counter fascist and anti-Semitic propaganda. Furthermore, the paper shows that this awareness of the problem was passed on to Adorno's educational theory published from the 1950s on, to be fostered as a principle of political and democratic education.