A psychopolitical interpretation of de-alienation: Marxism, psychoanalysis, and liberation psychology

Abstract

In his pioneering work on liberation psychology, Ignacio Martín-Baró describes de-alienation as a subjective process of recovering fragmented historical pasts for the purpose of reconstituting and liberating ourselves from an oppressive, alienating present. In this article, I argue that although de-alienation is typically understood as a political concept, it also lends itself to psychoanalytic readings. To this end, I draw on Marxist notions of material alienation, as well as Lacanian conceptions of subjective alienation, to offer a psychopolitical interpretation of de-alienation. More specifically, I use Marx and Lacan to consider how liberation psychology work can advance de-alienating processes within political organising, the production of art, and knowledge creation. I conclude by urging those working within the liberation psychology paradigm to consider how other psychopolitical lenses might avail emancipatory insights into collective resistance.