A Politics of Freud

Abstract

This chapter examines the social, cultural and ideological afterlife of the late Freud’s political turn, in which his work can be characterized by an increased pessimism that culminates in his proposal for the establishment of a secular ‘dictatorship of reason’. This model of a rational elite formed from the middle classes emerged as the dominant form of social organization in the twentieth century, and we argue that the recent ‘crises in democracy’ are a reaction against Freud’s demand for a rule by educated technocracies. This chapter explains the rise of Donald Trump as a revolt against Freud’s ‘dictatorship of reason’. Our reading analyzes the comments made by then candidate-elect Donald Trump on Access Hollywood and his subsequent defense of ‘locker room talk’ to suggest how the voting booth might function as a psychic extension of the locker room, providing an ostensibly cathartic space for individuals to express a latent collective frustration with the perceived repressions of contemporary everyday life.