Abstract

CASTRO, Audrey Gonçalves de. Welcome to the ideology of fear. Estud. psicanal. [online]. 2018, n.50, pp. 59-65. ISSN 0100-3437.

Contemporary subjects, undergoing numerous attempts to obtain guarantees of happiness and protection against suffering, are submitted to a powerful Western ideology, embodied in the language of those who hold the Power: the ideology of fear. The artificial creation of an atmosphere of fear is experienced on a daily basis and the language of fear has become a weapon of political domination and control of our society, not only as a social construction, but also as an ideological one. It’s about creating and maintaining social roots of distrust and conflict with the “Other”, where this “Other” is blamed for what has happened, or what may happen. This ideology, transposed with protection against human suffering, is closely linked to the contemporary media, which shows a “terrible” possibility of having a neighbor who brings us serious “displeasure”. The ideological strategies of containment and eradication of a possible “usurper” of our happiness include a constant struggle against a threatening “virtual shadow” through discourses and political initiatives, which include specifically designed measures to combat this “network of Others”. In the end, we realize that our existence has always required the sensation of a robbery of our society by a historical “Other”. Those officially elected by the ideology of power are supposed to make unachievable a real functioning of our society with the presence of this “Other”, which makes us feel more comfortable, as we can continue believing that we are not responsible for its impossibilities.

Keywords : Ideology; Fear; Happiness; Terrorism; Society.

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