The Unconscious in Social and Political Life

Reviews and Endorsements

This excellent book is a must for analysts and for readers interested in understanding our troubled world in a contemporary frame. […It] shows that psychoanalysis has to take an ethical stance when confronted with the dehumanisation tendency in our contemporary world.
Virginia Ungar, MD, President of the International Psychoanalytical Association, from the Foreword

This book shows that the radical spirit of the British tradition in psychoanalysis is alive and well and haunts the social and political institutions that house it. The contributions illuminate the cultural contexts which make psychoanalysis possible, throwing a particular uncanny light on who we are now and what we do to each other.
Professor Ian Parker, Emeritus Professor of Management, University of Leicester School of Business; President, The College of Psychoanalysts – UK

This wonderfully scintillating volume powerfully addresses the key questions of our troubled times, from the relation between polis and psyche, psychoanalysis and feminism, alterity and prejudice, to problems of resurgent authoritarian populism, neo-liberalism, market and religious forms of terror as well as the looming challenge of climate change. It shows beyond a shadow of a doubt the utter indispensability of psychoanalysis not just in a clinical setting—increasingly dominated in this age of austerity by quick pharmacological fixes and band- aid solutions such as CBT—but, relatedly, to thoughtful, sustained, and rigorous practices of critique and engagement within the wider public sphere.
Samir Gandesha, Professor of Humanities and Director of the Institute for the Humanities at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver

This insightful anthology explores the effects of social and political turbulence on the individual and social unconscious with invigorating verve.
Based on a series of progressive “The Political Mind” seminars established by David Morgan of the British Psychoanalytical Society, this collection is underpinned by Morgan’s belief that psychoanalysis “makes a valuable contribution” to the “important endeavour” of redeveloping “a culture that preserves the importance of humanity”, as opposed to embracing neoliberalism “with its emphasis on market forces over human love and joy”. To this end, the fourteen essays contained herein offer measured discussions of a broad range of pertinent socio-political matters from a psychoanalytical perspective.
From exploring the rise of the far-right and the debilitating “we’re all in it together” myth of austerity, to examining the psychologies of prejudice and tolerance in relation to attitudes towards refugees and migrants, this provides those looking for fresh takes on today’s troubled – and troubling – political turmoil with stimulating sagacity from preeminent experts in their fields.
Joanne Owen, LoveReading.co.uk

This collection of articles on urgent contemporary topics reflects a growing awareness of the meaning of a psychoanalytic perspective for understanding political and social processes. […] I found ‘The Unconscious in Social and Political Life’ very useful in providing a deepened analysis of what I see as a contemporary regressed state of the culture, in which both phenomena take place: the activation of post-traumatic fragments and the challenges to our identities and psychological states of mind in liquid modernity. While in different branches of contemporary psychoanalysis the cultural and social is increasingly appreciated, we are also increasingly aware of the impossibility of neutrality when both analyst and patient are so strongly influenced by what is taking place in the world.
Malgorzata Kalinowska, Journal for Analytic Psychology

…several of the chapters in this book contain useful insights into the impact of neoliberal social and economic policies on people’s emotional lives … At a time when the threat from the far right across the globe is greater than it has been at any time since the 1930s, that kind of ideological support from psychoanalysis is both timely and welcome.’ The full review can be found here.
Iain Ferguson, Logos: A Journal of Modern Society & Culture

… a readable and rich collection, ranging from highly personal accounts to the more theoretical ones … a psychoanalytic contribution to public debate is urgently needed.
… In sum, psychoanalytic sympathizers should read this brave book.
Jeremy Holmes, University of Exeter, UK, British Journal of Psychotherapy

Table of Contents

PERMISSIONS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABOUT THE EDITOR AND CONTRIBUTORS

FOREWORD
Virginia Ungar

INTRODUCTION
David Morgan

CHAPTER ONE
Where have all the adults gone?
Philip Stokoe

CHAPTER TWO
The democratic state of mind
Christopher Bollas

CHAPTER THREE
Understanding right-wing populism
Michael Rustin

CHAPTER FOUR
Europe in dark times: some dynamics in alterity and prejudice
Jonathan Sklar

CHAPTER FIVE
Neoliberalism is bad for your mental health
David Bell

CHAPTER SIX
Toleration of Strangers
Roger Kennedy

CHAPTER SEVEN
Inflammatory projective identification in fundamentalist religious and economic terrorism
David Morgan

CHAPTER EIGHT
Psychoanalysis and Palestine-Israel: a personal angle
M. Fakhry Davids

CHAPTER NINE
Psychoanalysis and feminism: a modern perspective
Ruth McCall

CHAPTER TEN
Reflection or action: and never the twain shall meet
R. D. Hinshelwood

CHAPTER ELEVEN
“We’re all in it together”: austerity’s myth
Renée Danziger

CHAPTER TWELVE
A psycho-politics of the slacker
Josh Cohen

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Climate change: the moral dimension
Sally Weintrobe

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Managing difficult children: psychoanalysis, welfare policy, and the ‘social sector’
Steven Groarke

INDEX

Customer Reviews

Our customers have given this title an average rating of 5 out of 5 from 1 review(s), add your own review for this title.

Adam B on 16/09/2019 15:08:28

(5 out of 5)

In this excellent new book, David Morgan makes a compelling case for why psychoanalytic thinking remains particularly important for understanding the pertinent issues that dominate social and political discourse. The discussion of issues, such as Brexit and the 2016 US Presidential election, have been characteristically chaotic. Yet Morgan’s contribution represents a rigorous academic engagement with traditional modes of psychoanalysis (and particularly Freud) in a contemporary political setting. It is a must read for those interested in psychoanalysis and politics.