Are we in a post-traumatic age?

Authors Avatar

International Politics of Trauma                                                                                                 Will Cattell

Vanessa Pupavac

Are we in a post-traumatic age?

“…I wake up every day…with this overwhelming sense of gratitude, because maybe if I hadn’t been knocked down in the way I was and forced to come to grips with what I’d done and the consequences of it, in such an awful way, I might not never have had to really deal with it 100%…I feel much more at peace than I used to. And I think that, as awful as what I went through was, and humiliating as it was, more often to others than to me, even, sometimes when you think you’ve got something behind you and then it’s not behind you, this sort of purging process, if it doesn’t destroy you it can bring you to a different place…”  (Bill Clinton,

   

 In recent decades we have seen what Phillip Reiff called the “triumph of the therapeutic.” Well-being as an end, rather than a by-product of working for a superior communal end (P261, Rieff, 1966) has become what matters. Above, the President of the United States describes the Lewinsky affair and aftermath in words steeped in therapeutic language. It seems that the whole chain of events was ultimately a good thing, because he emerged stronger for having gone through it. Here is a world leader speaking the language of therapy and symbolising cultural change.

     This essay will show that we are in a post-traumatic age and psychology has entered most areas of our existence, but some institutions and methods are maintaining their strength and in some cases coexisting with the new culture. The events of the period from WWII through to Vietnam will be shown to have provided the impetus for the rise of the psychologists. This section uses Ellen Herman’s “Romance of American Psychology” extensively as it is the most comprehensive book on the subject and shows how psychology became normalised and it’s terms and theories came to frame social and political issues and institutions. The change in human and social psychology will be described and explained and James L. Nolan Jnr’s. characteristics of a post-traumatic or therapeutic culture will be listed with examples provided and problems assessed. Finally, there will be a look to see what the future holds for such an ethos.

     Freud’s early work, delving into the subconscious and unconscious through psychoanalysis, inspired interest as he tried to map the human personality but it was two world wars that raised the profile of psychologists and their science. WWI brought psychological tests for the military and although problematic, the systematic management of the human factor in military life was now on the scene. In 1920s and 30s Germany a six-fold analysis programme consisting of “job analysis and adaptation of machinery, characterology and personnel selection, training, morale, propaganda and psychology of foreign nations and the conduct of war” was introduced. (P19, Rose, 1999) The psychological experts rise to power was due initially to the benefits of war and WWII military imperatives brought them together with policy makers, as political elites realised the importance of public opinion and the need to manage the public’s feelings. Working in organisations devoted to civilian and military mobilisation, and having their favourite theories applied to wartime problems, gave the experts their first taste of power. (P9, Herman, 1995) WWII provided psychological experts with finance, training opportunities, contacts and theoretical leads. They became involved in many projects; running internment camps, destroying enemy morale, monitoring public opinion, procuring intelligence and ensuring civilian and military compliance and fighting spirit. Winning the war was always the first obligation but they never hesitated to experiment in the laboratory of international conflict to improve understanding, effectiveness and marketability of technological talents. (P305, Herman, 1995) Psychological experts provided a new agenda; “Not only could mental capacities be aligned with institutional roles, but it appeared that organisational pathology could be promoted by acting upon the psychological relations that traversed organisational life. Solidarity and morale could be produced by administrative means.” (P52, Rose, 1999) Subjectivity was brought to the fore as programmes that “screened, diagnosed and treated millions of individual soldiers helped to turn subjectivity into an essential ingredient of successful war making” (P309, Herman, 1995). These experts were committed to a war that focused on feelings and attitudes of populations. This lead to theories that there were basic parallels between individual and mass behaviour and if dissatisfied people were prone to intolerance and authoritarianism then it was reasonable to assume that dissatisfied nations were prone to demagoguery and war. (P305, Herman, 1995)

Join now!

    “The conception of war that emerged from World War II – a “minds race” in which the quality of “mental material” could determine eventual victory or defeat – was tailor made for the Cold War era. So too, experts believed, was their knowledge of the psychology of revolutionary upheaval.” (P307, Herman, 1995) Wartime success placed behavioural scientists for key Cold War duty as tacticians. Dealing with WWII issues like understanding the enemy and managing domestic and international public opinion were seen as promising territory for American national security decision-makers waging the Cold War. Psychology aspired to predict and ...

This is a preview of the whole essay