Psychopolitics

"Psychopolitics" by Jean-Michel Oughourlian delves into the theme of political leadership and how it unifies communities against common enemies. However, the search for common enemies today only brings about polarization. Oughourlian, a renowned neuropsychiatrist, proposes that the only authentic enemy is ourselves, responsible for both everyday frustrations and global dangers. He explains how all people are bound together in a dynamic, contingent process of imitation, and shows that the same patterns of irrational mimetic desire that bring individuals together and push them apart also explain the behavior of nations.