The Psychic Life of Authoritarianism (Origins) #4

In this fourth episode of This Authoritarian Life we focus on the destructive dimension of contemporary politics. Looking at the case of Israel and its latest campaign in Gaza, psychoanalyst Iris Hefets reflects on the post-1967 history of Israel as the gradual suspension of the superego and the displacement of internal aggression on Gaza, which, building on Freud, she describes as Israel’s ‘Id’. In turn, author Richard Seymour, drawing on his latest book Disaster Nationalism, sees cycles of violence as being rooted in capitalist and planetary crises, which fuel feelings of shame and weakness. He argues that violence offers an effective, if temporary panacea for suppressing these destabilizing psychic forces.

How does arachnophobia help shine light on the destructive side of contemporary politics? How is it possible to exit increasingly destructive cycles of violence? And how can a recognition of vulnerability and mutual belonging help overcome aggression?

🎧 To find out, tune into this fourth episode of This Authoritarian Life, “The Psychic Life of Authoritarianism’’, with Kristóf Szombati and Erdem Evren!

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Chapters

• 0:00 Episode Teaser & Jingle
• 0:59 Introduction to the Episode & Guests
• 5:06 Lacan, Freud & Disaster Nationalism
• 12:08 Klein, Freud & Aggression
• 15:57 Israel: 1967, Gaza & the Killing of the Superego
• 23:24 Violence as Panacea for Shame
• 27:44 Nihilism, Sociophobia & the Far-Right
• 31:46 Victimhood & Entitlement
• 37:01 'Whiteness' & 'Blackness'
• 38:27 How to Exit Cycles of Violence?
• 52:05 Acknowledgements