What am I thinking about? The unconscious! Must be madness, absolutely madness. There’s no room for the unconscious in our digital, networked culture. It’s been replaced by the Anti-Oedipe of Guattari/Deleuze, rhizomes, communication theory, cognition, CBT, nano technology, biology, medicine, quick fixes, instant gratification, anything that can be seen and comprehended – immediately. No in-sight, only sight.

When I read Christopher Lasch’s The Culture of Narcissism back in the 80s I thought he was exaggerating. I no longer do. Information technology is not the cause - it hardly existed at the time when Lasch wrote his book - but has made the culture of narcissism visible. But what’s the cause of this culture then? Industrialization, I’d say is one feature, the need for quick fixes here and now to increase productivity - whether that be on the shop floor, in entertainment or in academia -.

Last edited: 2021-01-02 tagged: neoliberalism :: the spectacle filed under: the Other :: in the absence of the Other