Psychoanalysis and Politics: Histories of Psychoanalysis Under Conditions of Restricted Political Freedom

319 Pages·2012·1.52 MB·English

by  Joy Damousi

Psychoanalysis and Politics
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Psychoanalysis
and Politics
Histories of Psychoanalysis
under Conditions of
Restricted Political Freedom
EDITED BY
JOY DAMOUSI
MARIANO BEN PLOTKIN
1
1
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_________________________________________________
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Psychoanalysis and politics : histories of psychoanalysis under conditions of restricted
political freedom / edited by Joy Damousi and Mariano Plotkin.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-19-974466-4 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Political psychology. 2. Political ethics.
I. Damousi, Joy. II. Plotkin, Mariano Ben, 1961-
JA74.5.P74 2012
150.19'5—dc23 2011035181
_________________________________________________
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
CONTENTS
Contributors vii
Introduction: Psychoanalysis and Politics: Historical Perspectives ix
Mariano Ben Plotkin and Joy Damousi
PART ONE Europe
1. Origin, Rise, and Destruction of a Psychoanalytic Culture
in Fascist Italy, 1922–1938 7
Mauro Pasqualini
2. Psychoanalysis under the Vichy Regime 35
Annick Ohayon (translated by Edith Nicolas)
3. Psychoanalysis in Franco’s Spain (1939–1975): Crónica de una
“ agonía ” anunciada 57
Anne-Cécile Druet
4. Eff ect of Dictatorial Regimes on the Psychoanalytic Movement
in Hungary before and aft er World War II 79
Judit Mészáros
PART TWO Latin America
5. Psychoanalysis in Brazil during Vargas’ Time 113
C. Lucia M. Valladares de Oliveira (translated by Christine Puleo Reis)
6. Psychoanalysis in Argentina under Peronism and
Anti-Peronism (1943–1963) 135
Alejandro Dagfal
7. Th e Social Diff usion of Psychoanalysis during the Brazilian
Military Regime: Psychological Awareness in an Age of
Political Repression 165
Jane A. Russo
vi Contents
8. Th e Diff usion of Psychoanalysis under Conditions of Political
Authoritarianism: Th e Case of Argentina, 1960s and 1970s 185
Mariano Ben Plotkin
PART THREE Psychoanalysis in the United States during
the Cold War and the 1960s
9. “Have You No Shame”—American Redbaiting of
Europe’s Psychoanalysts 213
Elizabeth Ann Danto
10. Psychoanalysis, Authoritarianism, and the 1960s 233
Eli Zaretsky
Select Bibliography 261
Index 269
CONTRIBUTORS
Alejandro Dagfal Edith Nicolas
School of Psychology Brighton, Australia
University of Buenos Aires
Annick Ohayon
National Council of Scientifi c
Centre Alexandre Koyré
and Technological Research
Centre de Recherches en Histoire
(CONICET)
des Sciences et des Techniques
Buenos Aires, Argentina
EHESS, MNHN, CNRS
Joy Damousi Paris, France
School of Historical and
Mauro Pasqualini
Philosophical Studies
History Department
Th e University of Melbourne
Emory University
Parkville, Melbourne, Australia
Atlanta, GA
Elizabeth Ann Danto
Mariano Ben Plotkin
Hunter College School of
Instituto de Desarrollo Económico
Social Work
y Social/National Council of
City University of New York
Scientifi c and Technological
New York, NY
Research (CONICET)
A nne-Cécile Druet National University of Tres de
U niversity of Paris-Est Febrero
Marne-la-Vallée Buenos Aires, Argentina
Paris, France
Christine Puleo Reis
Judit Mészáros São Paulo, Brazil
Psychology Institute
Jane A. Russo
Eötvös Loránd University
Institute of Social Medicine
and Hungarian Psychoanalytical
State University of Rio de Janeiro
Society
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Budapest, Hungary
viii Contributors
C. Lucia M. Valladares de Oliveira Eli Zaretsky
Department of Psychology Clinic Th e New School for Social Research
Pontifi cal Catholic University of São New York, NY
Paulo
São Paulo, Brazil
INTRODUCTION
Psychoanalysis and Politics:
Historical Perspectives
MARIANO BEN PLOTKIN AND JOY DAMOUSI
Th e connection between psychoanalysis and politics has attracted the attention of
scholars and psychoanalysts since the beginnings of the psychoanalytic move-
ment. Th is volume approaches this topic from a particular perspective: it analyzes
the possibilities of survival and the fate of psychoanalysis under conditions of
political authoritarianism and, more generally, of restricted political freedom in
Europe and the Americas. Both psychoanalysis and authoritarianism, however,
are complex concepts that require some discussion.
Th roughout its more than century-long existence, psychoanalysis, like any
other system of thoughts or beliefs, has been the subject of transformations,
appropriations, and reinterpretation. If we consider that the history of a system of
ideas is inseparable from the history of its multiple receptions, then it is impossi-
ble to defi ne a “true” psychoanalysis— a s it would be impossible, for instance,
to defi ne a “true Marxism”— a s a yardstick against which all other versions of it
should be measured. Although the establishment of a fairly rigid orthodoxy
imposed by the International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA) standardized to
some extent the practice and interpretation of psychoanalysis, local conditions
introduced important nuances into the IPA standards. Moreover, the existence of
dissidents within the international psychoanalytic movement has challenged the
IPA-imposed orthodoxy generating alternative ones. A case in point is the emer-
gence and dramatic expansion of the Lacanian movement in France and Latin
America, a movement that also suff ered from fragmentation and dissidence.
A t times, psychoanalytic disagreements refl ect larger political issues. Such was
the case in France where, as Annik Ohayon shows in her contribution to this
volume (Chapter 2), political events taking place in the highly politicized interwar