Rebell - Erich Fromm

Rebell fångas av det man gör uppror mot, enligt psykologen Erich Fromm. Han undersöker hur rebellen producerar attraktion till makt.¹ Denna attraktion förvandlas till rebellisk läggning. Rebelliska markörer upphöjs och införlivas i ordningen. Dessutom omvandlas rebelliska symboler till varor. De kan exploateras som det senaste modet. Eller så transformeras rebell till finkultur, till den konst och musik som lanseras som verkligen autentisk och äkta. Rebell används på så vis för att producera lydnad.

Per Herngren

14 september 2026

Fotnot

1. "There is one feature of the authoritarian character which has misled many observers: a tendency to defy authority and to resent any kind of influence from ”above”. Sometimes this defiance overshadows the whole picture and the submissive tendencies are in the background. This type of person will constantly rebel against any kind of authority, even one that actually furthers his interests and has no elements of suppression. … In persons of the first type in whom the rebellious attitude is in the centre of the picture, one is easily led to believe that their character structure is just the opposite to that of the submissive masochistic type. It appears as if they are persons who oppose every authority on the basis of an extreme degree of independence. They look like persons who, on the basis of their inner strength and integrity, fight those forces that block their freedom and independence. However, the authoritarian character’s fight against authority is essentially defiance. It is an attempt to assert himself and to overcome his own feeling of powerlessness by fighting authority, although the longing for submission remains present, whether consciously or unconsciously. The authoritarian character is never a ”revolutionary”; I should like to call him a 'rebel'." Erich Fromm, Escape From Freedom, New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1994, först publicerad 1941, s 145.