The Psychoanalysis of Racism,
Revolution and Nationalism
(Richard A. Koenigsberg) is available
for purchase on Amazon. |
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Nations are conceived as if bodies. We project our own bodies into a national body or body politic Our own fragile, vulnerable self is blown up—to become a gigantic, omnipotent self.
Because territory is imagined in corporeal terms, the states seek to secure their borders—their “orifices and entry points.”
Orifices and must be closed or sealed—lest one's own body be penetrated. Porous boundaries need to be firmed up, sealed off—walls built to protect the vulnerable self.
Still—always—one’s actual, fragile body remains contained within the fantasy of a of a gigantic, invulnerable body. Fear of penetration (rape) remains.
Anxiety is played out on a monumental scale. Walls must be built—nothing can be allowed to penetrate. Each and every orifice must be sealed. |
