The return of Freud's group psychology. A popular Chilean revolt approach

Abstract

This article develops from the revolt, or social outbreak that took place in October 2019 in Chile. With protests in all parts of continental Chile, these mobilisations have become the largest and longest mass mobilisations in the country's history, bringing together a significant number of anti-neoliberal demands, which ended up overturning the legitimacy of the development model established by General Pinochet's dictatorship (1973–1990) and deepened during all post-dictatorial governments (1990–2021). In this paper, the Freudian conceptions of masses are questioned, fundamentally embodied in Group Psychology and Analysis of the Ego, as well as in a subsidiary way in Totem and Taboo and On Narcissism. It is observed that the mobilisations in Chile lacked a leader, which challenges Freud's conclusions. In this way, it is postulated, making use of Rozitchner's work, that the mass is a contingent historical subject, whose conformation logics are open and influenced by its circumstances. Making use of Laclau's reception of nominalism, a reading of the October masses is offered as articulated by a signifier (‘dignity’) that serves as a symbolic support for the libidinal bond of its members.