Peter Atkinson …. for deep thinking

Adorno’s “Aspects of the New Right-Wing Extremism” Revisited: A Critical Analysis in the Context of Nigel Farage and Reform UK

by Peter Atkinson 9th October, 2025

Introduction

In his 1967 lecture, ‘Aspects of the New Right-Wing Extremism’, Theodor W. Adorno issued a prescient warning: the socio-psychological pathologies that culminated in European fascism were not exorcised by the defeat of Nazism. Instead, they persisted latently within the structure of post-war democratic societies, awaiting reactivation under conditions of crisis. Rooted in the critical theory of the Frankfurt School, Adorno’s analysis functions as a psycho-social diagnostic tool, probing the interplay between authoritarian character structures, economic displacement, and the manipulation of mass media. This paper contends that Adorno’s framework provides a powerful and enduring lens through which to analyse the contemporary rise of right-wing populism in Britain, as exemplified by the political trajectory of Nigel Farage and Reform UK. It will argue that Farage’s movement embodies the core tendencies Adorno identified—specifically, the mobilization of an authoritarian potential within the electorate, a pseudo-conservative ideology that masks radicalism as tradition, a strategic deployment of scapegoating to channel economic anxiety, and a sophisticated use of media spectacle that bypasses rational-critical debate.

1. The Authoritarian Potential: Mass Psychology and the Farage Appeal

Adorno’s lecture is informed by his seminal work, ‘The Authoritarian Personality’ (1950). This study identified a syndrome of traits—conventionalism, authoritarian submission, aggression towards out-groups, and a propensity for simplistic, dichotomous thinking—that predispose individuals to fascist appeal. For Adorno, this was not a marginal pathology but a latent potential within modern populations, which could be activated by demagogues during periods of socio-economic strain and cultural anxiety (Adorno et al., 1950).

The appeal of Nigel Farage and Reform UK can be understood through this prism. Their success is not primarily a function of detailed policy platforms but of their mastery over affective triggers: a nostalgic yearning for sovereignty, a desire for control in a complex world, and a fear of the “other”—whether defined as the immigrant, the Brussels bureaucrat, or the “woke” metropolitan elite. The slogan “take back control,” central to both the Brexit campaign and Reform UK’s messaging, is a masterful encapsulation of this affective appeal. It resonates not as a concrete policy proposal but as a therapeutic promise to those who feel disempowered by the forces of globalization, technocratic governance, and rapid social change. This dynamic aligns precisely with Adorno’s observation that the new right-wing extremism “directs itself to people who feel they are the objects of opaque circumstances… and offers them a pseudo-activity” (Adorno, 2020, p. 31). Farage offers the ‘feeling’ of agency, a psychological salve for deeply rooted feelings of political alienation.

2. Pseudo-Conservatism: The Radicalism of Nostalgia

A central pillar of Adorno’s critique is the concept of “pseudo-conservatism.” He distinguishes this from genuine conservatism, arguing that pseudo-conservatives instrumentalize the rhetoric of tradition and national preservation to pursue a fundamentally radical and anti-institutional agenda. They pose as defenders of the established order while systematically eroding the democratic norms, institutional checks, and pluralistic values that underpin it (Adorno, 2020, p. 15).

Nigel Farage’s political persona is a textbook case of this pseudo-conservative dynamic. He presents himself as the guardian of an authentic British tradition—sovereign, independent, and robust—yet his political career has been dedicated to dismantling trust in core institutions: Parliament, the judiciary, the civil service, and the mainstream media. The 2016 Brexit campaign, which he led, was a masterclass in pseudo-conservatism. It dismissed economic and historical expertise as elitist conspiracy, promoted demonstrably misleading claims (most famously the £350 million per week for the NHS pledge), and framed the European Union as a foreign, existential threat to British identity.

This construction of a Manichean struggle between the “pure people” and a “corrupt elite” is a hallmark of populism that scholars like Mudde (2010) identify as a key tactic of the extremist right, a dynamic Adorno would recognise. Furthermore, Farage’s invocation of tradition is highly selective and ahistorical, conjuring a sanitised vision of imperial glory and wartime resilience that ignores the complexities of Britain’s post-colonial, multicultural reality. As Adorno astutely noted, this form of pseudo-conservatism is “not conservative at all” but a form of “masked radicalism” that seeks to dismantle liberal democracy under the guise of restoring a mythical, homogeneous past (Adorno, 2020, p. 22).

3. Economic Displacement and the Scapegoat Mechanism

Adorno insists that the economic base of society is crucial for understanding the rise of extremism. Periods of profound economic insecurity—marked by precarious work, austerity, and deindustrialization—create a fertile ground for demagoguery. When individuals experience systemic economic failure, the complexity of its causes (global capital flows, financialisation, technological change) can be overwhelming. The far-right offers a “false resolution” to this anxiety by personalising and simplifying the problem, redirecting legitimate anger away from abstract economic structures and towards tangible, vulnerable scapegoats (Adorno, 2020, p. 25).

Farage’s political ascendancy is inextricably linked to this scapegoat mechanism. UKIP’s rise to prominence occurred in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, a period defined by public austerity, stagnating wages, and a deep sense of betrayal by the political and financial establishment. Rather than engaging with the intricate causes of this malaise, Farage’s rhetoric consistently identified a simpler target: immigration and the regulatory framework of the EU. This narrative framed complex socio-economic issues as a zero-sum conflict between native Britons and newcomers, and between Britain and Brussels.

Reform UK has continued and expanded this strategy. It now directs populist ire towards “net zero” environmental policies, COVID-19 lockdowns, and “woke” capital, all portrayed as elite projects that harm the ordinary citizen. This process of displacement is central to Adorno’s analysis. He warns that fascism’s appeal lies in its ability to offer “ersatz satisfaction” by providing a target for aggression, thereby offering a cathartic, if entirely illusory, solution to real material suffering (Adorno, 2020, p. 27).

4. The Spectacle of Populism: Media, Emotion, and Irrationality

Adorno, a critic of the culture industry, was acutely aware of the role media plays in shaping political consciousness. He argued that modern mass media, with its focus on immediacy, personality, and emotional impact, can be harnessed to bypass rational deliberation and manipulate public sentiment directly, thereby normalising extremist ideas (Horkheimer and Adorno, 2002).

Nigel Farage is perhaps the most media-adept British politician of his generation, a master of the political spectacle. His carefully cultivated image—the pint-drinking, straight-talking man of the people—is a media product, performed in pubs, on fishing boats, and in confrontational television appearances. His regular slots on outlets like GB News and LBC are not traditional political interviews but curated performances of defiance and authenticity, designed to generate viral clips and reinforce his outsider brand. Reform UK’s social media strategy amplifies this, relying on memes, provocative soundbites, and emotionally charged visuals to mobilize support.

This media strategy exemplifies what Adorno termed the “irrationality” of right-wing extremism. Farage’s appeal is not built on a coherent, fact-based argument but on emotional resonance and charismatic performance. He positions himself as a truth-teller battling a corrupt system, a narrative that is reinforced through media spectacle. In the Adornian view, this represents a profound degradation of the public sphere, where the logic of the culture industry supplants substantive political discourse, and charisma becomes a substitute for democratic competence, a dynamic explored in contemporary terms by Stanley (2018).

5. The Crisis of Legitimacy and the Failure of “Working Through the Past”

Ultimately, Adorno’s analysis is as much a critique of liberal democracy’s failures as it is of the extremism that exploits them. He contends that fascism emerges when democratic institutions lose their legitimacy, when citizens feel profoundly alienated from the political process, and when politics degenerates into a hollow spectacle (Adorno, 2020, p. 10).

The context for Farage’s success is a profound crisis of legitimacy within British democracy. The 2016 referendum was not merely a vote on EU membership; it was a vessel for decades of accumulated resentment towards a political class perceived as self-serving and out of touch. The subsequent political turmoil further eroded public trust. Farage and Reform UK thrive in this vacuum, positioning themselves as the authentic alternative to a “broken” Westminster system.

Adorno’s concept of “working through the past” (‘Aufarbeitung der Vergangenheit’) is crucial here. He insisted that a healthy democracy must consciously confront its historical traumas and contradictions to prevent their malignant return. In Britain, there has been a persistent reluctance to engage in a sober public reckoning with the legacies of empire, colonialism, and internal racial hierarchies. Farage’s politics of nostalgic nationalism flourishes in this amnesiac space, offering a comforting narrative of national pride without the discomfort of introspection. This refusal to “work through the past” creates the ideal cultural conditions for a politics that, in Adorno’s terms, is “potentially fascist” in its structure and appeal (Catlin, 2021).

Conclusion

Theodor W. Adorno’s ‘Aspects of the New Right-Wing Extremism’ transcends its historical moment to offer a vital diagnostic framework for the political present. His synthesis of psycho-social, economic, and cultural analysis illuminates the underlying mechanics of contemporary populist movements in a way that purely electoral or policy-focused studies cannot.

The political phenomenon of Nigel Farage and Reform UK serves as a potent case study that confirms the enduring relevance of Adorno’s warnings. Their movement is not an aberration but a logical, if disturbing, outgrowth of latent authoritarian tendencies, economic dislocation, institutional decay, and a media environment that privileges spectacle over substance. They have successfully mobilised a politics of resentment by offering the seductive, yet entirely spurious, comforts of pseudo-conservative nostalgia, simplistic scapegoating, and charismatic spectacle.

As Adorno cautioned, the primary danger lies not in the extremist figureheads themselves, but in the unresolved social and psychological contradictions that make their message plausible. To counter this threat, the task is not merely to critique populist actors but to engage in the more difficult, democratic work of addressing the systemic inequalities, political alienation, and historical amnesia upon which their power depends. The reactivation of the authoritarian potential, as Adorno knew, is always a measure of democracy’s own failings.

References

Adorno, T.W. (2020) ‘Aspects of the New Right-Wing Extremism’. Translated by W. Hoban. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Adorno, T.W., Frenkel-Brunswik, E., Levinson, D.J. and Sanford, R.N. (1950) ‘The Authoritarian Personality’. New York: Harper & Row.

Catlin, J. (2021) ‘Adorno’s ‘Aspects of the New Right-Wing Extremism’ and the German Antisemitism Debate’, ‘Radical Philosophy’. Available at: https://www.radicalphilosophy.com/article/adornos-aspects-of-the-new-right-wing-extremism (Accessed: 16 October 2023).

Dahms, H.F. (2020) ‘Adorno’s Critique of the New Right-Wing Extremism: How (Not) to Face the Past, Present, and Future’, ‘disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory’, 29(1), pp. 119-127. Available at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/disclosure/vol29/iss1/14 (Accessed: 16 October 2023).

Horkheimer, M. and Adorno, T.W. (2002) ‘Dialectic of Enlightenment: Philosophical Fragments’. Edited by G. Schmid Noerr. Translated by E. Jephcott. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Mudde, C. (2010) ‘The Populist Radical Right: A Pathological Normalcy’, ‘West European Politics’, 33(6), pp. 1167–1186.

Stanley, J. (2018) ‘How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them’. New York: Random House.