Guimarães, Ludmila V.M.

Myth and political power: Is democracy possible? - 2024.


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In this article, the authors analyze the mythical dimension of power in our contemporary societies, drawing on the works of Freud, Renato Mezan, Paul Ricœur, Cornelius Castoriadis, and connecting them the thinking of Eugène Enriquez in his book De la horde à l’État. The analysis centers around Enriquez’s dialectical view of human power, situated between psychogenesis and anthropology. Then, based on his book La clinique du pouvoir, the focus shifts to the various expressions of political power that exist and have existed. While Enriquez recognizes the importance of the democratic project, which depends on an individual and collective capability for action (leading in turn to the sociohistorical development of our societies), he highlights the ever-fragile equilibrium to be maintained between the social bond sought by this project and its ever-present possibility of destruction.