The fate reserved for years to the paternal function has numerous clinical effects (not necessarily pathological) and the subjective wandering of many patients is one among others. One way to respond is to assign to them the victim label. This label is validated by our society, since any suffering would now be the effect either of a neurodevelopmental deficit, or of harassment, abuse or trauma suffered. The subject, in any of these cases, won’t be bothered, reduced to the status of disabled person or victim, and thus finally clearly identified.

It is not surprising, therefore, that psychoanalysis is so much criticized today, since it places at the center of its clinical approach the responsibility of the subject (yet the subject of the unconscious) in almost all circumstances, whatever the contingencies of each personal story, as well as in determining desire and sexuation which are the inevitable features of psychic life.

However, some analysts promote a “new” psychoanalysis, out of conviction or activism, or to better appear on the social scene. They thus embrace recent developments and stamp the trauma label everywhere, especially among women of course, for structural reasons; so much so that certain recent writings have a truly pre-Freudian appearance but adapted to the current times. It’s the return of “neurotica”, abandoned by Freud to invent psychoanalysis…

Do these reflections only concern a few psychoanalysts who continue to persist before being debunked in the name of progress (false progress, since it betrays the laws of language and speech)? We know it’s not that simple, and our current dire state of politics is a proof of it. If no peaceful agreements achieve intelligent resolutions, while respecting the constraints specific to us parlêtres, then we will witness the lack of points of reference and the refusal of alterity. And Melman’s dark projections announcing to us the possible return of a strong real and authoritarian power, to “repair” the collapse of the paternal function, will be realized. Regarding his prediction of a “return of the stick”, we would even have the choice between two possibilities, depending on whether we prefer to be slap on the left cheek or the right.

Thierry ROTH, president of l’ALI