The Embodiment of "Us and Them": Fascist Experience in a Traumatized World
https://doi.org/10.4081/rp.2021.495
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This paper represents an attempt to demonstrate that "us vs them," the binary that lies at the heart of fascist experience, is embodied. The authors suggest that fascist experience is not merely political but that it infiltrates many aspects of our personal and professional lives. To accomplish their aims the authors focus on two inextricably intertwined strands of psychoanalytic theorizing: traumatic experience and human embodiment. Clinical vignettes illustrating the challenges faced by analysts in working with patients who support a fascist-leaning leader are provided. The paper concludes by suggesting that the emphasis on argument and dialogue in relational psychoanalysis counters the seductions of fascist experience.
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