Populism as Fundamentalism: A Psychodynamic Reading of the Phenomenon

Abstract

Today, the most disturbing political question seems to be of a psychodynamic nature: what occupies the minds of individuals and society in general, other than a wealth of contradictions and a great emptiness? The accumulation of insensitivity and cruelty towards the world and towards oneself seems to be shaping up as the biggest problem facing this new century.To this end, the present study lays out an innovative psychodynamic reading of the political and cultural attitude of populism. The phenomenon is herein analyzed using a psychodynamic perspective, which will enable us to deduce just how such an orientation, in its phenomenological aspects, lends itself to fundamentalist connotations typical of saturated thought. If it can be said that the individual often acts in a manner that seeks to consciously utilize reason and emotion through the intermediary of the Ego, the masses tend to act impulsively and without any conscious awareness of their actions, on the basis of unmediated instinctual drives. Understanding the unconscious dynamics that underlie the attitudes and behaviors which the general population assumes in the face of crises, social emergencies, diversity, economics, and ecology is an essential step towards developing sustainable, concrete solutions at the psychological, social, and political levels, precisely by taking as a starting point a profound awareness of the psychodynamic mechanisms which dictate the orientation of the perception of reality and the resulting decision-making process.

Keywords

• fundamentalism
• populism
• groups
• psychodynamics
• saturated thought