Christopher Lasch’s <i>The Culture of Narcissism</i>

Abstract

Christopher Lasch’s bestseller The Culture of Narcissism had, beyond doubt, a significant impact—it was even read in the White House. Today it is not only still frequently taught and referenced, there are also still empirical studies conducted which try to verify Lasch’s assertion of the preponderance of the narcissistic personality. This paper re-reads the book as a critique of psychologization processes, and this allows us to discern, besides the flaws in Lasch’s approach, a fundamental insight which goes largely unnoticed by both Lasch’s opponents and his proponents. Following this, the article will situate subjectivity within the matrix of psychology, science, psychoanalysis, and politics. In this way a critique of contemporary forms of psychologization—psychologization under globalization, as it were—is made possible.