From absolutism to fascism: Hobbes’ philosophy through the prism of Horkheimer, Adorno and Neumann

Abstract

Horkheimer and Adorno in Dialectic of Enlightenment, and Neumann in Behemoth, have tried to understand the genealogy, the structures and the practices of fascism in particular through Hobbes’ philosophy. However, despite their common membership in the Institut für Sozialforschung, they disagreed on the continuity between Hobbes’ absolutism and European fascism. Horkheimer and Adorno were convinced that Hobbes’ absolutism and fascism have shared the same anthropological origins, the principle of “Self-preservation” being at the root of absolutism as well as fascism. In both cases, the power is benefiting the dominant class, and creates an expanse where individuals destroy themselves. However, according to Neumann, absolutism and fascism are opposed, because Hobbes’ “Leviathan” is a real state and differs from nazi «Behemoth», which is a non-state. The human reason that grounds the civil state is not just “instrumental”, but also emancipatory.