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"Sexual repression, the essential cause of neuroses, produces armored individuals, generally poorly suited for autonomy and thus supports the submission, the handling and the exploitation of these individuals. Etienne de La Boétie had already noticed this propensity so what he called "voluntary servitude", without being able to explain its origin. It is this characteristic which allows capitalism, a system based on the exploitation of man by man, to thrive.

Sexual repression also involves the development of non respectful sexual behaviors, of fascistic behaviors (the need to yield to a chief), irrational behaviors as well as mystical tendencies."
http://www.ecologielibidinale.org/en/mi ... lle-en.htm


So, sexual repression allows capitalism to thrive? And capitalism and fascism have significant similarities?
"Voluntary servitude"?
I value the technology of Western civilization, but something within me doesn't always feed good about the Corporate World I live in. In fact, something seems terribly wrong with it. I know life isn't perfect and always peachy, but isn't our culture losing its humanity w/ exploitation?
I know the feeling of being exploited...it's like having my genitals stripped from me, and being worm-like, squirming helplessly in the muck.

Are we becoming worms?
Thoughts. I need yours.

This society has plenty of problems, but on the surface this theory looks like psychobabble. I think that lumping 'mystical tendencies' into the same category is absurd, though. I'll have to think about this some more and give a more detailed response.

I value Reich for his fancy ideas, but that's just one layer of the cake. You can explain capitalism and fascism with sexuality, but you can explain them with economy and politics and religion as well. People flock(ed) to both ideologies for different reasons. Of course, you can explain economy, politics and religion as well with sexuality - but this works vice versa, so it's left to you to decide what's fundamental to which.

One fact: SM wouldn't be the same without the insignia and black leather of the SS. One reason I never got attracted to it.

He starts off with a mystical theory - the last time I heard about circulating sexual energy, the speaker was talking about Kundalini. I consider a lot of psychology to be babble, but this more so than most. Then again, I suspect it is more sociology than psychology, which means it is babble by default.

The author of the abstract is clearly a mystic. He also makes an unusual definition of capitalism in order to insert it into an otherwise unconnected conclusion - capitalism, a system based on the exploitation of man by man. Usually I think of governmental systems as fulfilling that definition, which neatly fits into his connecton of sexual repression to fascism. The connection is much more tenuous than his declarations would have us believe regarding capitalism.

If one successfully rebuts his definition of capitalism, as it is one of the key presmises of his writings, then you will unravel his entire mystical anti-capitalist argument. The ironic thing is he is arguing that his opponents are the mystics.