Melanie Klein And Critical Social Theory: An Account Of Politics, Art, And Reason Based On Her Psychoanalytic Theory

Synopsis

In this thoughtful and lucid book, C. Fred Alford shows how the psychoanalytic theory of Melanie Klein can be extended to groups and culture and thus can illuminate issues of social theory and moral philosophy of the sort considered by the Frankfurt School. He then applies this expanded theory to the politics of large groups, the appeal of works of art, and the psychological sources of reason. Alford's ideas are interesting and well worked out. The book is good reading for the intelligent layman as well as for the Freudian psychoanalyst. -Elise W. Snyder, M.D., Yale Medical School Regularly consigned to the backwaters of psychoanalysis, Melanie Klein has never received the recognition she deserves for the magnitude of her contributions to the mainstream of psychoanalytic thought. Alford's comprehensive study goes far in redressing this historical injustice, not only demonstrating that Klein's formulations provide the undergirding for many of the new directions in psychoanalysis, but also persuasively demonstrating the importance of her contributions to social and political theory. -Jerrold M. Post, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, Political Psychology, and International Affairs, The George Washington University Alford's is an attractive Panglossian formulation, argued with considerable panache...Alford's book performs a valuable service. -Martin Stanton, Times Higher Education Supplement