The
following is an extract from...
Psychotherapy and Politics International
3(3):217-219 (2005)
DOI: 10.1002/ppi.5
Documents
from the front line
This section, an ongoing feature of the journal, is intended
to include material of a non-academic, practical and immediat nature,
representing ongoing psycho-political process - including manifestos,
course handouts, leaflets, petitions, round-robins and ephemera of all
kinds. All contributions will be greatfully received.
Creative Fighting in everyday life.
Creative Fighting has as its goal disarming the Other(s), in contrast
with
Destructive fighting where the goal is dismembering the Other(s).
A prime example is
sports of all kinds. Historical examples are early
members of different villages fighting each other and then using a huge
ball in competition. Football evolved as a sport from this. A war time
example, is combatant troops playing football as a respite from war. Of
course, actual violence can take place in the form of fans fightng each
other i.e. Hooliganism.
Democracy itself evolved
from Fuedalism where the goal is to use voting and
speeching rather than actual violence.
Family life has transcended
earlier historical developments where harsh
punishments were sometimes prevalent.
At an international
level, the United Nations forum's is an attempt to
replace war and violence with discussions and agreements. George Bush
and
his supporters argue that without American and other allied trroops peace
and democracy would not be possible in Iraq
.
Time will only tell whether this will be the case. One could site the
2nd
World war as creative fighting to save democracy from Fascism. Were the
millions who died in this and earlier wars worth the costs?
On a smaller scale,
organisations can be gripped by power struggles not
excepting therapy organisations! (I have had more hassles in therapy
organisations than I had as a
national serviceman in the RAF 1952-54!)
We have drawn upon
the work of Wilfred Bion's short but amazing book
"Eperiences in groups" He posits a Creative Work Group (w-group)
that he
contrasts with a destructive basic assumption group (Ba-group), that moves
between three contrasting modes of being: the Basic Assumption of
Dependency (baD) where the group seeks a leader on whom to depend. The
second mode is the Basic Assumption of Pairing where the goup seeks a
couple
to seek salvation, Archetype being a Royal Pair whose progeny will protect
the future, Finally there is the Basic Assumption of Fight-Flight where
the
most ŒPsychiarically sick member' is unconciously chosen to lead.
Forms of
Fascism could be described in this basic assumption.
These dynamics have been observed in many groups, large and small.
Psychoanalytic and
Psychotherapy organisations who know of Bion,s work are
no better at keeping to the creative dynamic than other kinds of
organisations!.
It is , at this point
in time, not yet clear whether the situation in Iraq
will end with broadly creative or destructive events.
Millions died in the
last two World Wars, 1914- 18, and 1939-45. Was it
worth it? Such carnage and loss of millions of lives beggars belief. A
slogan might be:
NEVER AGAIN!
John Southgate and Elizabeth London.
Rosemary Randall uses a psychoanalytic lens to examine a number of questions around the climate change crisis - to begin with, the very obvious question, why is so little being done about it? She suggests that the appearance of complacency in the face of climate change is thoroughly illusory, and that in reality defences of denial, spllitting and projection are being mobilized - what analysts traditionally, and in this context ingterestingly, call "primitive" defences.
Randall draws together a number of apparently disparate
cultural phenomena - including shoppng, risk aversion and psychotherapy
itself - into a coherent pattern. Pschotherapy and Politics International
is particularly glad to welcome her to its pages, because some years ago,
together with John
Southgate (who also appears in this issue) she was responsible for two
of the best pieces of psycho-politics so far "The Barefoot Psychoanalyst"
and (together with Frances Tomlinson ) Co-operative and Community Group
Dynamics Or, Your Meetings Needn't be so Appalling!
John Southgate founded the Centre for Attachment-based Psychotherapy and was supervised by John Bowlby. He was active politically from 1968 onwrds and has a long standing connection with Lacan's work. He is also a Jazz Pianist for over 50 years and more recently formed Jazzindo, a mixture of jazz and Indian classical music.
Elizabeth London is a professonal musician and artist. She painted most of the art-work on site. She has worked as an attachment-based analyst for many years,but now works as a freelance Lacanian attachment analyst and alternative education consultant. She is a member of Education Otherwise UK.