Unity via an Ideological Fantasy

What they do not know is that their social reality itself, their activity, is guided by an illusion, by a fetishistic inversion. What they overlook, what they misrecognize, is not the reality but the illusion which is structuring their reality, their real social activity. They know very well how things really are, but still they … Continue reading Unity via an Ideological Fantasy →

The name of the strict father

I’ve been thinking about how I used the concept of the big Other to describe the manner by which Ranil Wickremesinghe, the current Sri Lankan President, functions with a section of the electorate that supports him. https://twitter.com/rajit_h/status/1547386139472199683?s=61&t=qy9dc_UC7o7gX5duEQJkuQ Recently, after some theatrics in Parliament by him, I referenced the (non-Lacanian) strict father model. https://twitter.com/rajit_h/status/1628671355649683459?s=61&t=oPwwWezWWxnELuIstV7oLw Both these … Continue reading The name of the strict father →

Yahapalanaya & “Go home Gota” as master signifiers

A couple of introductory notes: This section of the Wikipedia article on the 2015 Sri Lankan Presidential election gives some idea of the complex dynamics of Yahapalanya. For an understanding of current events in Sri Lanka, and the "Go home Gota" movement, I recommend this.A summary of what is meant by a master signifier can … Continue reading Yahapalanaya & “Go home Gota” as master signifiers →