la angustia en la era del capitalismo neoliberal

8/15/2019 La Angustia en La Era Del Capitalismo Neoliberal

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La angustia en la era del capitalismo neoliberal

• Salecl, R. (2004). On anxiety . London: Routledge.

• the anxieties that particulary relate to contemporary society are linked to ne !eelings o!

insecurity, stemming !rom the nature o! contemporary capitalism, !or although insecuritiesha"e al ays #een the "ehicle o! the capitalist la#our market, in post$industrial society e cano#ser"e changes in the su#%ect&s sel!$perception that ha"e in turn #een a!!ected #y thetrans!ormations in the social sym#olic order. Salecl'0

• onsumerist society seems to thri"e on a particular !eeling o! inade uacy that peoplecommonly experience today. *o grasp the po er o! this !eeling e need only look at any

omen&s maga+ine or the style& section o! a daily ne spaper. -hat e !ind in such pu#lications, apart !rom ad"ertising and reports on the latest !ashion, cosmetics andcele#rities, is ad"ice. -e li"e in times characteri+ed #y sur"i"al. *here!ore it is not untypicalto come across articles on su#%ects such as the single girl&s guide to sur"i"al a mother&s

secret diary on ho to sur"i"e child#irth (since ha"ing #a#ies does terri#le damage,especially to the !ashiona#ly !ortyish mother&) ad"ice on ho to sur"i"e #eing in or out o! arelationship ad"ice on diet and exercise, etc. Salecl'0

• /n sum, such maga+ines o!!er a cocktail o! ad"ice and prohi#itions that ends up tasting o!guilt. /! the ideology o! the 110s !ollo ed the commands ust do it3& and e yoursel!3&2today it seems that the ne motto the media promotes is: 5o matter hat you do, you illdo it rong, #ut it is #etter that you !ollo our ad"ice and try again.& *he ust do it3&ideology relied on the idea that the su#%ect is !ree& in the sense o! #eing a non$#elie"er inauthority and a person capa#le o! changing his or her identity at ill. *oday it looks as i! eare li"ing in times hen people ha"e oken up and ackno ledged their limitations in such

pursuits. 6o e"er, it is not so much that e ha"e !inally reali+ed that e are not sel!$creators, ho can re%ect old authorities like religion or the state and make out o! oursel"es a

ork o! art un!ettered #y any cultural or e"en #iological restraints it is rather that the "eryideology o! ust do it3& instead o! o!!ering unlimited optimism opened the doors to a

particular anxiety. *his anxiety is linked to the "ery idea that e no ha"e !reedom to createan image in hich e ill appear likea#le to oursel"es, since today more people than e"er

#e!ore experience all kinds o! traumas related to their #ody image, and as a result aresu!!ering !rom anorexia, #ulimia, excessi"e exercising, o#session ith plastic surgery, andshopping addiction. -hat is so horri!ying in the "ery possi#ility o! making out o! onesel! a

ork o! art, i.e. o! #eing !ree to create our li"es the ay e ant to7 -hy does the "ery!reedom that e supposedly ha"e !or making choices in our li"es account !or an increase o!

anxiety7 Salecl'0$'

• 8reud speculated that anxiety in adulthood is linked to guilt, hich is hy anxiety has animportant connection ith the superego. Lacan also stressed this connection and pointed outthat the superego !unctions as the "oice that commands the su#%ect to en%oy yet at the sametime mockingly predicts that he or she ill !ail in this pursuit o! en%oyment. -hile it is easyto conclude that anxiety relates to this !eeling o! guilt linked to the superego&s command, onecould in"ert this concept and thus produce a !resh insight here#y, paradoxically, it is not the


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possi#ility o! !ailure #ut rather the possi#ility o! success hich produces anxiety. 6ere eneed to remem#er t o ell$kno n Lacanian points a#out anxiety, analysed in the pre"iouschapter: !irst, that anxiety is not incited #y the lack o! the o#%ect #ut rather #y the lack o! thelack, i.e. the emergence o! an o#%ect in the place o! lack and second, that anxiety is a median

#et een desire and %ouissance. Salecl'

• the lack does not start existing hen e come to an o#%ect o! desire #ut rather hen desire isreplaced ith %ouissance9 hich is hen e come close to an o#%ect that is no longer theelusi"e o#%ect o! desire #ut rather the o#%ect that incites a particular en%oyment o!ten coupled

ith pain, and thus horri!ying !or the su#%ect. Salecl' $'2

• /n lo"e relationships this might happen hen a hysteric ho has #een longing !or a particular partner !inally has a success!ul sexual encounter ith them, yet as a result is totally horri!ied #y the experience and immediately a#andons the partner. 6o e"er, the pro#lem may not #esimply that the su#%ect ants to keep his or her desire unsatis!ied (i.e. to keep longing !or theinaccessi#le o#%ect), #ut may rather #e linked to coming too close to the o#%ect o! %ouissance.

Salecl'2

• 6o , there!ore, is anxiety linked to !ailure7 nd hy does the su#%ect o!ten desperately try to pre"ent success7 nxiety is o!ten percei"ed as a state o! dissatis!action, an excitation that thesu#%ect !eels hen he or she is not content ith his or her li!e #ut in light o! psychoanalytictheory, this might not #e the case, since anxiety is primarily an a!!ect that arns us o! the

pain!ul encounter ith %ouissance. *hus i! one takes success not as a #liss!ul state o!harmony #ut as coming close to %ouissance, anxiety can #e percei"ed as a protecti"e shield!rom %ouissance hich also allo s desire to stay ali"e. Salecl'2

• ;n las actuales modalidades de tratamiento dominantes no hay espacio para nada de esto.

• 6o there!ore does today&s capitalist ideology play on this anxiety7


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• *his seems to #e the case not only !or people ho are continually changing their long$distance telephone ser"ice in the hope o! !inding the #est deal, #ut also !or those searching!or a lo"e partner. /! e look at the proli!eration o! sel!$help #ooks de"oted to lo"e, it

#ecomes clear that lo"e is especially anxiety$pro"oking today and that people are searching

!or all kinds o! guidance to alle"iate this anxiety. /n today&s consumerist society, searching!or a partner !ollo s a similar logic to #uying a ne car Salecl''

• -hile on the one hand the -estern su#%ect is percei"ed to #e a sel!$creator (i.e. a su#%ect hocan create out o! him$or hersel! hate"er he or she pleases, and ho no longer relies on oldauthorities like !amily, religion and state), on the other hand the su#%ect has lost the security&that the struggle ith old authorities #rought a#out. *he shi!t that has happened in thesu#%ect&s perception o! him$ or hersel! and his or her place in the social sym#olic net ork,

hich incited ne anxieties !or su#%ects ith regard to their #ody image and to their role insociety at large, is "ery much linked to the ay capitalism !unctions today. Salecl''

• 6o e"er, the ideology o! consumerism is paradoxically also o!!ering solutions& on ho people should deal ith this anxiety: it e"en seems that anxiety is the "ery motor o! themarketing politics that dominate today&s consumerist society. Salecl'4

• hat actually pro"okes anxiety in the su#%ect is not the !ailure to #e someone else, #ut anina#ility to #e onesel!. Salecl'>

• s ell as esta#lishing a trusting relationship, contemporary manu!acturers a#o"e all try tosell an image or, #etter, a li!estyle. Let us take the example o! socalled designer co!!ees& soldat Star#ucks or o!!ee Repu#lic. /n these places hat is sold is not simply co!!ee, #ut a

particular type o! experience: elldesigned spaces, o!!ering a cosy, homely atmosphere itha politically correct intellectual touch. Salecl'>

• *oday&s capitalist society is making a long$term shi!t !rom industrial production to cultural production, in hich cultural experiences are more important than goods and ser"ices.

eremy Ri!kin points out in his #ook *he ge o! ccess that e are entering a so$calledhyper$capitalism, or #etter cultural capitalism& that relies on the experience& economy ' in

hich each person&s o n li!e #ecomes a commercial market. Salecl'>

• *he prediction is that in the !uture almost e"erything ill #e a paid$!or experience in hichtraditional reciprocal o#ligations and expectations9mediated #y !eelings o! !aith, empathyand solidarity9 ill #e replaced #y contractual relations in the !orm o! paid mem#erships,su#scriptions, admission charges, retainers and !ees. *he guess is that in the ne era, people

ill purchase their "ery existence in small commercial segments, since their li"es ill #emodelled on the mo"ies so that each consumer&s li!e experience ill #e commodi!ied andtrans!ormed into an unending series o! theatrical moments, dramatic e"ents, and personaltrans!ormations&. Salecl'?


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• eremy Ri!kin summari+es these ne trends #y pointing out that: @/n the ne net orkeconomy hat is really #eing #ought and sold are ideas and images. *he physicalem#odiment o! these ideas and images #ecomes increasingly secondary to the economic

process. /! the industrial marketplace as characteri+ed #y the exchange o! things, thenet ork economy is characteri+ed #y access to concepts, carried inside physical !ormsA.

Salecl'?

• nother important point is that i! hat mattered in industrial society as the uantity o!goods, in post$industrial society this is replaced #y uality o! li!e, hich is hy e no longer

#uy goods, #ut instead access them in time through, !or example, leasing and !ranchising. /tlooks as i! capitalism is losing its material origins and is #ecoming a temporal a!!air, and thisis linked to the !act that customers do not so much need things, #ut %ust their !unction. /n thiscontext, the customer #ecomes a client and partner ho needs attention, expertise and, mostimportantly, experience. (/t is interesting ho psychoanalysis is also replacing the name

patient ith client. nd one onders i! some clients are doing analysis as some kind o! a neexperience they ant to #uy.) Salecl'?

• /n sum, e are itnessing a trans!ormation in the nature o! commerce !rom the selling o!things to the selling o! images and creation o! communities. *he idea #ehind this change isthat people a#o"e all ant to appear likea#le to others and to themsel"es and also ant "erymuch to #elong&. 5o that old types o! communities (!amilies, cultural groups) are indecline, #y #ecoming su#scri#ers, mem#ers, and clients, people ac uire access to a ne typeo! community. Salecl'B

• 6o e"er, #ehind this attempt to create ne communities is the perception that the totality o! people&s li"ed experience needs to #e trans!ormed into commercial !are. /t looks as i! humanli!e itsel! #ecomes the ultimate commercial product. nd some arn that hen e"ery aspecto! our #eing #ecomes a paid$!or acti"ity then the commercial sphere #ecomes the !inal ar#iter o! our personal and collecti"e existence. Salecl'B

• /! e introduce here the Lacanian concept o! the ig


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precisely hen this demand is lacking, as, !or example, in a psychoanalytic situation, herethe analysand is pertur#ed #y the lack o! the demand coming !rom the analyst. nalysandshope to get clear instructions !rom the analyst, #ut instead get silence or uestions that

#ounce their o n pro#lems #ack to them. Salecl'B

•

=ara no angustiarse, el indi"iduo necesita un tipo de relaciCn particular con el

la angustia en la era del capitalismo neoliberal

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