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The Emotional Plague of Mankind #2
People in Trouble: Volume Two of the Emotional Plague of Mankind
Reich illuminates the development of his sociological thought between 1927 and 1937 as he discusses major social and political events and ideas that led him to understand the role of human character in shaping and responding to social processes
283 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1953
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About the author
Wilhelm Reich
153 books726 followersWilhelm Reich (24 March 1897 – 3 November 1957) was a Jewish Austrian-American doctor of medicine, psychiatrist/psychoanalyst and a member of the second generation of analysts after Sigmund Freud. Author of several influential books, he became one of the most radical figures in the history of psychiatry.
Reich was a respected analyst for much of his life, focusing on character structure, rather than on individual neurotic symptoms. He promoted adolescent sexuality, the availability of contraceptives and abortion, and the importance for women of economic independence. Synthesizing material from psychoanalysis, cultural anthropology, economics, sociology, and ethics, his work influenced writers such as Alexander Lowen, Fritz Perls, Paul Goodman, Saul Bellow, Norman Mailer, A. S. Neill, and William Burroughs.
He was also a controversial figure, who came to be viewed by the psychoanalytic establishment as having gone astray or as having succumbed to mental illness. His work on the link between human sexuality and neuroses emphasized "orgastic potency" as the foremost criterion for psycho-physical health. He said he had discovered a form of energy, which he called "orgone," that permeated the atmosphere and all living matter, and he built "orgone accumulators," which his patients sat inside to harness the energy for its reputed health benefits. It was this work, in particular, that cemented the rift between Reich and the psychoanalytic establishment.
Reich, of Jewish descent and a communist, was living in Germany when Adolf Hitler came to power. He fled to Scandinavia in 1933 and subsequently to the United States in 1939. In 1947, following a series of critical articles about orgone and his political views in The New Republic and Harper's, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began an investigation into his claims, winning an injunction against the interstate sale of orgone accumulators. Charged with contempt of court for violating the injunction, Reich conducted his own defense, which involved sending the judge all his books to read, and arguing that a court was no place to decide matters of science. He was sentenced to two years in prison, and in August 1956, several tons of his publications were burned by the FDA. He died of heart failure in jail just over a year later, days before he was due to apply for parole.
Reich was a respected analyst for much of his life, focusing on character structure, rather than on individual neurotic symptoms. He promoted adolescent sexuality, the availability of contraceptives and abortion, and the importance for women of economic independence. Synthesizing material from psychoanalysis, cultural anthropology, economics, sociology, and ethics, his work influenced writers such as Alexander Lowen, Fritz Perls, Paul Goodman, Saul Bellow, Norman Mailer, A. S. Neill, and William Burroughs.
He was also a controversial figure, who came to be viewed by the psychoanalytic establishment as having gone astray or as having succumbed to mental illness. His work on the link between human sexuality and neuroses emphasized "orgastic potency" as the foremost criterion for psycho-physical health. He said he had discovered a form of energy, which he called "orgone," that permeated the atmosphere and all living matter, and he built "orgone accumulators," which his patients sat inside to harness the energy for its reputed health benefits. It was this work, in particular, that cemented the rift between Reich and the psychoanalytic establishment.
Reich, of Jewish descent and a communist, was living in Germany when Adolf Hitler came to power. He fled to Scandinavia in 1933 and subsequently to the United States in 1939. In 1947, following a series of critical articles about orgone and his political views in The New Republic and Harper's, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began an investigation into his claims, winning an injunction against the interstate sale of orgone accumulators. Charged with contempt of court for violating the injunction, Reich conducted his own defense, which involved sending the judge all his books to read, and arguing that a court was no place to decide matters of science. He was sentenced to two years in prison, and in August 1956, several tons of his publications were burned by the FDA. He died of heart failure in jail just over a year later, days before he was due to apply for parole.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 6, 2007
Reich is a little heavy going at times, and while he seems very analytical, he has an unmistakable grip on what makes us human. He died in a US prison, cast off as a pervert due his emphasis on the role of sex in mental wellbeing.
A disciple of Freud, he's worth a read if you fancy getting up to your knees in heady psychoanalysis.
A disciple of Freud, he's worth a read if you fancy getting up to your knees in heady psychoanalysis.
December 10, 2020
This is a very tough read. If you are a fan of Reich's life and psychogy and politcs in Europe in 1930s this is for you.
I gave it three stars because the massive amounts of politics in this book was perhaps too much for me.
However, very interesting and quality read
I gave it three stars because the massive amounts of politics in this book was perhaps too much for me.
However, very interesting and quality read
October 14, 2023
An autobiographical work which relates Reich's experiences during the 1930s in Germany, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. Much of it is about his work, and ultimate disillusionment, with both the Marxist and Psychoanalytic communities. Reich's penetrating and prescient insights into the rise of fascism are especially relevant today, and the parallels between what happened in Germany then and what's happening now in the US are especially chilling. Some of his scientific observations are dated and have been superseded by newer research, but his pioneering work in mind/body medicine is truly groundbreaking.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews