The problem is not neoliberalism!
Today's developed capitalism
How can we be subjected to endless suffering?
The governing principle of today's society
A scathing analysis of 'narcissism'

Philosopher Isolde Karim returns with her new book, The Pain of Narcissism.
This is a new book released five years after 『Me and Others』, which attracted attention for its analysis of anti-others in the Trump era, and it delves into the root of the social division that can now be called a civil war.
People who voluntarily support the tyrant.
People who love politicians or idols as if they were themselves.
What's happening to them? The secret lies in narcissism.
Narcissism is the way we voluntarily submit today.
The commandment, 'I must become a better person than I am now.'
Whether you're starting to control your diet or taking action to protect the environment, no one can escape this call to self-improvement.
But this is an antisocial principle.
In the pursuit of a narcissistic ideal that can never be fulfilled, I suffer endlessly, and others are reduced to mere spectators who validate my success.
How did this happen? Isolde Karim captures with characteristically astonishing insight and clear logic how narcissism becomes the dominant principle of society.

“The starting point is an old question.
Why do we agree with the status quo, whether it benefits us or not?
We may grumble from time to time.
But generally I agree with the given situation.
Voluntarily.
“Where does this spontaneity come from?” - from the preface

La Boesi asks:
How can so many people, entire villages, cities, and peoples, tolerate a single tyrant? His answer is this.
A ruler has no more power than the people give him.
The same goes for tyrants.
A tyrant has only as much power as the people give him.
A tyrant can only harm people to the extent that they are willing to tolerate it.
Therefore, the secret of domination lies in the consent of the ruled.
The oppressed voluntarily accept their oppression.
This is the paradoxical lesson that La Boesi gives to his contemporaries.
And La Boesi shouts at them.
It was you who made the tyrant powerful! … … But why do people obey, regardless of whether it serves their own interests? Above all (and this is a far more pernicious question), why do people obey even when it does not serve their own interests?
---From Chapter 1, “Where Does Our Spontaneity Come From?”

Neoliberalism is a flawed social theory.
The concept of a purely realistic existential condition is turned into its opposite, that is, into an ideology.
Besides, this ideology cannot work that way.

But a lot has changed over the past few decades.
There have been all kinds of tremendous changes that are called neoliberalism.
So, has the image of neoliberalism become the norm despite its flawed conceptions of the individual and society? Or is what has been realized so far simply not neoliberalism? In other words, does what has been realized so far conform to the theoretical image of neoliberalism?

So let's not just talk about neoliberalism, let's talk about advanced capitalism.
At this point, we are left with this question:
If what concerns us is neither simple manipulation nor a precisely defined social character, then what is our imaginary relationship to this advanced capitalism?
---From "Chapter 3: The Trumpet of Neoliberalism"

Star is a pure ego-ideal delegation.
Unlike superego leaders, stars do not dictate anything.
It does not present any laws or commands.
The stars do not appeal, they never call out to us.
The stars don't actually point towards us.
The star is, so to speak, 'resting' within itself. This is the temptation of the star.
And stars influence through seduction.
Therefore, stars are not objects of fear but of admiration.
The star is the social embodiment of the narcissistic type.[93] According to Lacan, what makes this type attractive and satisfying to us is that it “recognizes a being that exhibits the characteristics of a complete, finished, fulfilled, and perfect world.”[94]
These characteristics make up the narcissistic type.
Here we rediscover much of what we have encountered before.
A complete and complete identity, an expression or embodiment of successful centralization.
---From "Chapter 5: Narcissus and the Others"

In today's context, 'goodness' is not a measure imposed from outside.
In today's context, I am rather the measure of myself.


Thus, in the age of narcissism, ethical goodness has become a permitted self-affirmation.
But if what is good is what conforms to my nature, if what promotes my identity is good, then we are also always negotiating what we are with good and bad.
We don't just eat meat; we are carnivores.
We don't just ride bicycles, we are cyclists.

So the distinction between good and bad means not only 'What is good for me?' but also 'Am I a good person? Or not?'
Then I'll always be standing on the brink of collapse.

Narcissistic 'morality' is not only a permitted self-affirmation, but also a required reinforcement of an ever-unstable self-identity.

---From "Chapter 6 Narcissistic 'Morality'"