Discontent, identitarianism, and capital: what is the function of the psychoanalyst in the social bond?

Abstract

This article aims to discuss the function of psychoanalysis in relation to the contemporary impasses explored by identitarian movements. Starting from current scenes, it articulates Freud’s concept of discontent with Lacan’s theory of the discourses. The methodology adopted is psychoanalytic research, which connects clinic, theory, and culture through dialogue between psychoanalysis, philosophy, and decolonial studies. From this movement, it is inferred that the use of the theory of the four discourses – together with the discourse of the capitalist –provided a point of support from which it was possible to question the reasons why part of the progressive debate, especially that sustained by identitarian movements, ends up alienated from the risk of reproducing what it seeks to oppose. By affirming the ethical place of listening and subjective division, this work advocates for a practice that resists the market-driven capture of difference and the reification of identities, positioning psychoanalysis as a device for subversion and reinvention of the social bond.