How corporations co-opted the radical quest for psychological freedom
In short: In the 1960s, a radical movement sought to destroy the internal 'policeman' of social conformity. This video explores how that revolutionary desire for self-expression was ultimately captured by American corporations to fuel modern consumerism.
Inspired by Wilhelm Reich—a former pupil of Freud who became his primary antagonist—radical psychotherapists in the 1960s argued against the repression of the inner self. They championed a political movement aimed at dismantling the psychological conformity imposed by business and politics, seeking to create individuals free from internal control.
This radical energy evolved into the 'Me Generation' and various self-help movements, such as Werber Erhard’s Erhard Seminar Training. However, rather than threatening the status quo, this new expressive self became a goldmine for corporations. By using Freudian techniques to decode inner desires, companies began selling products that promised to validate and express the very individuality people were seeking.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: The Century of the Self - 3. There is a Policeman Inside All Our Heads, He Must Be Destroyed (BBC)
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