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 →

The creation of the subject and reality: some notes on theory

PART of Constructing a Party Core to our system is understanding humans as a "subject" and the idea that reality is a social construction. This reality can be manipulated through institutions to form a voter (subject) that will vote for the party. The human as a subject In theories of human subjectivity, a distinction is made … Continue reading The creation of the subject and reality: some notes on theory →

the big Other(s)

I'm reading the book, "Six Moments in Lacan: Communication and identification in psychology and psychoanalysis" and the first chapter immediately struck me as providing a way to analyse seemingly irreconcilable political divides globally and in the US in particular. I've chosen to cite some findings from PRRI's 2021 American Values Survey to give context to … Continue reading the big Other(s) →