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Implications for today: The human body is projected into society. The essence of contemporary politics is fear that one's own body will be penetrated by a foreign body. "Invasion" means invasion of one's own body.
One's own body is projected into the world. Astonishingly, a massive fantasy structures the entire national consciousness. ________________________________________________
The Psychoanalysis of Racism,
Revolution and Nationalism
(Richard A. Koenigsberg) is available for the first time as an e-book.
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Nations are conceived as bodies. We project our own body into a national body. One's vulnerable self is blown up—to become a gigantic, omnipotent self.
Because territory is imagined in corporeal terms (Neocleous), the state seeks to secure it borders—its "orifices and entry points." Orifices and entry points must be closed—to prevent penetration. Porous boundaries need to be firmed up, sealed off—walls built to protect the vulnerable self.
One's actual, fragile body fuses with the fantasy of a of a gigantic, invulnerable body. National bodies require borders to prevent penetration. Anxiety is played out on a monumental scale. Walls must be built—nothing can be allowed to penetrate. Each and every orifice must be sealed. |
