A Deeper Cut

A Deeper Cut, with its studies of race, anti-Semitism, populism, and the New Right, illuminates the power of the unconscious in group life. It shows that psychoanalysis, once relegated to therapeutic practice, has become an exciting form of social thought.

-- Eli Zaretsky, Professor of History, New School for Social Research

The focus of this book is on a deeper understanding of the world in which we live. Societal and political events examined and explained include colonialism, racism, societal and national divisions, the emergence of right-wing parties in Europe, religious fundamentalism, street gangs, trade union activities, and mental health services. Psychoanalysts and psychoanalytically informed contributors also explore the psychology of whistle-blowers, how certain traumatic experiences in childhood affect the development of cruel political leaders' personality organisation, the impact of different losses on societal movements, the relationship between internal values and external rules, and psychoanalytic activism. Reading this far-reaching book will be an enriching experience and I believe it will help the reader think about how the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic will influence shared human behaviour.

-- Vamik D. Volkan, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, President Emeritus of International Dialogue Initiative, past President of International Society of Political Psychology

‘As with the first volume, this book offers us a valuable way to approach politics and delivers – as the title says – a deeper cut.’

-- Rachael McKeown, psychodynamic counsellor, SCAP no. 141 (Summer 2021) sussex-counselling.co.uk

I highly recommend this book; it has helped me to keep thinking while listening to the news, to recognise projective patterns in political events, to value complexity over splitting, and, above all, to treasure negative capability – the capacity to tolerate uncertainty.

-- Jane Cooper, former senior counsellor at the University of Cambridge – Therapy Today Oct