1. Repressive Desublimation
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Repressive Desublimation

2. Repression Restraining Inhibiting Repressing
Pushing something down, hiding it, preventing its emergence.
It can apply to a person’s psyche (where the repressed thought may return as a symptom)
Or to a society (where the repressed may rise up in a revolution)

3. Sublimation
The tendency to raise, or spiritualise, idealise, or translate onto a ‘higher plane’.
May involve repressing/re-channelling one’s basic drives
Examples:
Sex becomes romantic love
Expression becomes art
Can you think of any others?

4. desublimation Putting sublimation into reverse
Turning ‘higher’ impulses back into drives for physical/emotional gratification
Is there anything in our society that would make this happen?

5. Why is it repressive?

6. How could this be repressive?

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8. Repressive Desublimation
According to some radical thinkers, the following features of our society are agents of RD:
Consumerism
Pornography
Endless entertainment
Celebrity culture TV
Advertising
Etc…

9. Repressive desublimation
It’s repressive because it stops people from questioning
It replaces freedom with appetites
It infantilises us (turns us into big children)
Politics becomes a spectator sport
Economic well being becomes the main goal
‘having it now’ replaces fighting for a better world
It’s deeply ideological (false ideas, false ‘needs’, false goals, false consciousness)
We are manipulated
It prevents radical change.
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11. What’s this got to do with tolerance?
Radical view:
Liberal society promotes a version of tolerance that is actually manipulation
We are encouraged to tolerate the things that enslave us.
Tolerance is promoted as part of a false freedom
Such as?
Pornography
Racism
Consumerism
But all views, all choices, are not equal.
Tolerance as part of liberal freedom is deeply ideological.
What do you think?

12. What have we learned? What is: Repression Sublimation
Repressive desublimation
Ideology