WORLD WORLDWIDE EUROPE FRANCE - news journal UPDATE - (en) France, UCL AL #359 - Culture - Read: Macron. Perverse Thinking in Power (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr) [machine translation]

 In this book, Marc Joly, a sociologist and research fellow at the CNRS,

questions Emmanuel Macron's mode of operation, both in words and
actions. ---- Based on studies on narcissistic perversion in
relationships, he began to wonder whether some of the Head of State's
actions and decisions could be compared to a narcissistic
perversion-type pathology. His line of questioning gradually shifted to
"Perverse Thinking in Power," the emanation of a self-centered
individual who has reached the pinnacle of power and possesses a
formidable capacity for toxicity. To support his reflections, Marc Joly
draws on the work of Paul-Claude Racamier, a psychiatrist and
psychoanalyst, and that of Pierre Bourdieu. The subject matter is
sometimes challenging, referencing psychoanalytic concepts, but it
offers a unique perspective on the Head of State that is well worth a read.

The scope of the author's work should not be misunderstood. It is as a
sociologist that he examines the mental structures that drive Macron. He
is not so much interested in the presidential person as in the
interactive mechanism of domination that positions one person under the
dependence of another, through repeated devious relationships
characterized by seduction and repulsion. The "narcissistic pervert"
thus defends himself against his own internal conflicts, blaming others
for failures or misunderstandings. The other is then merely an object, a
foil for his genius. The Christ-like attitude Macron proclaims is the
most obvious expression of this. It is present from his first rallies.

"My parents allowed me to become who I was meant to be." With this deep
conviction, he had to be. Such is his story, for us, the story of a
misfortune.

Marc Joly cites various tactics used by the narcissistic pervert that
call into question the power-domination relationship: calm
self-assertion, perfect control of the situation, reminders of the
mandatory framework he established, thereby pointing out behavioral
deviations, and a refusal to rush into action - all themes Macron used
and abused during the health crisis, the Yellow Vest movement, and the
pensions movement. Gradually, in a non-aggressive, determined, and calm
manner, he reiterates his message, firmly convinced of the correctness
of his decisions.

Wielding ambiguity and paradox, he confines society and drags it into
his logic. He has nothing to do with the failures; the fault lies with
others, in this case French society, incapable of questioning itself, of
moving forward, and of understanding the issues at stake. Macron intends
to modernize French society at a rapid pace; nothing must stand in his
way. And resistance, if any, is seen as misunderstandings due to a lack
of intelligence. We all remember these manipulative episodes, like the
infamous Great Debate, when a moment of speech was released and then
silenced. He used the same manipulation through a paradoxical and
ambiguous discourse during the discussions on pension reform. The use of
institutional violence, supposedly legitimate, also belongs to his
manipulative register: a reminder of limits, of order.

This behavior would illustrate a narcissistic perversion which,
rejecting any inner conflict, any crack in his omnipotence, shifts the
responsibility for setbacks onto others. He constantly distances and
deflects the harmful consequences of his decisions.

Otherness is a cold concept for the narcissistic pervert, existing only
as an extension of the self, a sublimation of his person, and proof of
the incomprehension that surrounds him. The inhabited must inflexibly
guide the indecisive, the obtuse, and the immature. The rigidity and
violence of social relations express all this. The recourse to constant
reminders of the law, of the norm as well; just like this unquenchable
thirst to honor the Great Figures of History in order to better
penetrate them oneself.

"Blindness to social inequalities condemns and authorizes the
explanation of all inequalities [...] as natural" - Pierre Bourdieu.

Dominique Sureau (UCL Angers)

Marc Joly, La pensée perverse au pouvoir, Éditions anamosa, October
2024, 288 pages, 20 euros.

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Lire-Macron-La-Pensee-perverse-au-pouvoir
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