Pathoanalysis of the subject of capitalism

Abstract

Freud remarked that, by analogy with petrology, just as one can discern the structure of a crystal from fragments that are broken off from larger pieces, so, too, one can discern the ‘structure’ of society from individuals who suffer certain pathologies. Philippe van Haute proposed that on this basis, a project of ‘pathoanalysis’ is possible as a contribution to a philosophical anthropology of the present. It is as if the overall structure of society is condensed in its pathological fragments. Hence, it makes sense to scrutinise some of the most promising ‘pathological fragments’ ‐ that is, those which, judging by extant literature, seem to resonate with Freud's claims ‐ in an effort to come to grips with the overall ‘structure’ of contemporary society, which is that of neoliberal capitalism. The pathological ‘fragments’ examined in this article are obsessional neurosis, perversion, and schizophrenia, the first of which was selected in the light of Ian Parker's claim, that the exemplary capitalist subject is the obsessional neurotic. The second was chosen because Freud's characterisation of sadism as a form of perversion resonates with the insights of a number of contemporary thinkers on capitalist practices, and the third ‐ schizophrenia ‐ was selected in the light of the work of Deleuze and Guattari, in which the contemporary subject was described as typically ‘schizoid’, given the schizophrenising effects of capitalist flows. Against this background one can draw certain conclusions about the direction psychotherapy could take in contemporary capitalist society.

Kenniswerkers en neoliberale "goewermentaliteit" - Benda Hofmeyr se Foucault and Governmentality: Living _ to Work in the Age of Control

“…Dit is 'n uiters problematiese aanname, veral in die lig van psigoanalitiese getuienis -voorafgegaan deur Arthur Schopenhauer se irrasionalistiese filosofie van die Wil in die 19de eeu -dat mense se handelinge veeleer deur onbewuste, begeerte-georiënteerde motiewe gedryf word as deur rasionele besluite, ongeag die mate van rasionaliserende regverdiging wat op 'n rampspoedige (dog oënskynlik-"rasionele") besluit mag volg. 'n Psigoanalitiese teoretikus en praktiserende doi.10.17159/2224-7912/2023/v63n1a7 psigoanalitikus soos Ian Parker (2011) demonstreer op oortuigende wyse die primaatskap van die onbewuste in psigiese manifestasies daarvan by werkers onder neoliberalisme vir sover dit in sekere kwasi-patologiese (byvoorbeeld obsessief-neurotiese) handelinge na vore kom (sien ook Olivier, 2013;2015;2018 in hierdie verband, en 2022 vir 'n tematisering hiervan in die konteks van die Covid-19-"pandemie"). Hierdie oorweging het ook implikasies vir Hofmeyr se deurlopende argument wat kenniswerkers se motivering betref: in plaas van die drieledige motivering wat sy aanbied (verwagtinge van werkgewers ten opsigte van werkers se produktiwiteit; beskikbaarheid van tegniese middele om feitlik deurentyd te werk; die wil om deurentyd te werk, gekoppel aan thumos, of vurigheid, en die gepaardgaande behoefte aan self-aktualisering), kan 'n mens aanvoer dat Parker 'n alternatiewe verduideliking aanbied, te wete die grootliks obsessief-neurotiese karakter van werkers in die konteks van neoliberalisme (sien ook Olivier, 2015;2018).…”