In the previous chapter, we have looked at some themes concerning the role of consciousness in thinking differently. To similarly examine the role of the unconscious and nonconscious is, however, more problematic. The lack of insight we have into our mental life below the conscious level, and the seeming antithesis between mental functioning at such levels and social structures, makes the mapping of the former to the latter difficult. The problem has, however, already been addressed by theorists who have attempted to unpack the Freudian unconscious in political terms and it will be useful to canvas such attempts before moving on to examine how the foregoing neurological material on the nonconscious may be rendered political.

The prevailing theme that comes through such an exercise is the varying ways in which the relation between the ‘instincts’ and civilisation have been conceived. For Freudians civilisation represses the instincts, forcing their energy into less destructive channels. We must examine, however, whether such a vision can still be maintained with the move from conceptions of the unconscious to the nonconscious. Not only have there been moves to reconceptualise mental life, but the society in which we live has also changed. The question must be asked of whether the old Freudian attitudes can still be deemed useful in contemporary consumer capitalist culture.

The problems of nonconscious politics

One of the foundational problems in trying to frame a politics of the nonconscious comes in assessing the interrelation between such mental functioning and our social lives.