Dialogues in Contemporary Psychoanalysis

The Allure of Fascism and the Appointment in Samarra.
Increasingly we are observing the rise of proto-fascist parties around the world and in the American MAGA political movement. Building on the fable The Appointment in Samarra, the presentation will discuss the characteristic features of fascistic states of mind. Reflecting on her own history that began when her father was forced to escape Vienna in 1938, following the Austrian Anschluss, Dr. Loewenstein will trace the subsequent generational futile efforts to escape extreme forms of nationalism and fascism, first in Israel, where she was born, and then in United States following the election of Donald Trump. The talk will address the author’s own blindness to the fate of the Palestinians during the Nakba, the Palestinian Catastrophe of 1948.  Era will address the disturbing allure of fascistic states of mind, an allure that makes it increasingly apparent that the hideous face of fascism may be a permanent by-product of modern democracies.

Era A. Loewenstein, Ph.D. is an adult, adolescent, and child psychoanalyst. She is on the Faculty and a Training and Supervising Analyst at the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis (SFCP). Dr. Loewenstein was an Associate Board Member of The International Journal of Psychoanalysis. She presents locally, nationally, and internationally on various topics including the challenges of working psychoanalytically with patients trapped in perverse pathological organizations. Dr. Loewenstein has been especially interested in working with children, adolescents and adults suffering from the painful and enduring impact of personal trauma and trans-generationally transmitted familial and social trauma. Era is in private practice in San Francisco, where she also provides supervision and consultations as well as leading study groups and consultation groups. Since the election of Donald Trump, in 2016, Dr. Loewenstein has been exploring fascistic states of mind. Among her recent publications are: Dystopian Narratives: Encounters with the Perverse Sadomasochistic Universe. (Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 2017) and The Agitator and His Propaganda Machine: Donald Trump and the Road to American Fascism (Fort Da, 2018). Era is the Editor of the Psychoanalytic Inquiry Issue: Perspectives on Populist and Fascistic States of Mind.(February 2023. Volume 43, #2). The Issue includes her paper: In Dark Times: Psychoanalytic Praxis as a Form of Resistance to Fascist Propaganda. For her Prologue see:   https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07351690.2023.2163143

Discussant: Michael J. Diamond, PhD, FIPA, is a Training and Supervising Analyst at Los Angeles Institute and Society for Psychoanalytic Studies. He has authored over ninety articles and chapters in the areas of masculinity, femininity, gender theory, fathering and the paternal function. He also has written on psychoanalytic technique and the analytic mind; trauma and dissociation; hypnosis, altered states; and group processes. He published an article in Psychoanalytic Inquiry’s Issue on “Perspectives on Populist and Fascistic States of Mind.” In addition, Michael has authored five books including: Ruptures in the American Psyche: Containing Destructive Populism in Perilous Times. His other books include Masculinity and Its Discontents: The Male Psyche and the Inherent Tensions of Maturing Manhood; My Father Before Me: How Fathers and Sons Influence Each Other Throughout Their Lives; and The Second Century of Psychoanalysis: Evolving Perspectives on Therapeutic Action. Dr. Diamond is widely known for his national and international presentations. He is in private practice in Los Angeles, while being active in teaching, supervising and writing.

Dialogue: Following the presentation and the discussion, Era and Michael will engage in a conversation with John DiMartini, Ph.D., Moderator, and with the audience.