The House of Fantasies : Psyche, Desire, and Indian Politics - Maya Mishra

This book is a search for missing pieces in the puzzle of the global rise of right-wing nationalist ideologies. Rejecting the view that politics can be understood through reason alone, Maya Mishra argues that making sense of the space of politics requires us to pay attention to the play of psychic energies. She draws parallels between the unconscious desires that animate love and sex and the passions that are mobilised in politics. In doing so, she uncovers largely unacknowledged and even disavowed fantasies that govern various aspects of our lives. Through an exploration of the Indian experience, Mishra sheds light on some of the most perplexing aspects of our personal and political lives: falling in love with the 'wrong' person, having the 'wrong' sexual fantasies, engaging in violence, and casting the wrong people - the victims - as the villains of our ideological narrative. Written as an engaging narrative, and one that doesn't require prior familiarity with psychoanalysis, this book draws on psychoanalytic concepts and applies them to everyday realities, demonstrating their value for understanding the growing appeal of a politics of 'us' versus 'them' across the world. It is a book written for everyone who has felt troubled by the bewildering and brutal realities of our times.