Love Thy Neighbor as Thy Selves: Commentary on Papers by Neil Altman and Rachael Peltz

Abstract

This commentary on papers by Neil Altman and Rachel Peltz argues that while the type of political culture in which one lives has a significant impact on the practice of psychoanalysis, no direct line can be drawn from psychoanalytic theory to any particular political persuasion. It is one thing to argue that psychoanalytic insights offer a way of thinking about political relations; it is quite another to suggest that they can be used to promote or justify a political agenda. While Altman and Peltz theorize about the negative impact of manic defense in contemporary culture, this commentary suggests that there are natural fluctuations in one's ability to respect inner reality and a degree of manic defense employed in everyday life that is quite normal. We all use reality to gain reassurance against death inside. But, when we are “distracted from distraction by distraction” (Eliot, 1971, p. 120) external objects are prematurely deadened so that the needed reassurance through external reality becomes increasingly elusive. Challenging some of Altman and Peltz's political assumptions, the commentary suggests that if psychoanalysis is to contribute to the political realm, it must do so on the basis of how it differs from other approaches to understanding what it means to be a human being.