Charles Melman's 'L'Homme sans gravité' Analyzes a New Psychic Economy

In a series of interviews with Jean-Pierre Lebrun, psychoanalyst Charles Melman argues that contemporary society is shifting from a culture based on repression of desires (neurosis) to one that promotes their free expression (perversion). This 'new psychic economy,' detailed in the book 'L'Homme sans gravité. Jouir à tout prix,' marks a civilizational change with threatening implications: the liberal individual, demanding total and immediate satisfaction, becomes a consenting victim of a future fascism. Melman contrasts the old economy, where lack and loss founded subjectivity, with the new one, where the refusal of loss renders subjectivity problematic and eliminates the category of the 'Real.' The book was reviewed in art press, referencing Melman's earlier contribution to a special issue on 'Representing Horror,' where he discussed Gunther Von Hagens' 'necroscopy'—the aesthetic preservation of corpses. Philippe Forest wrote the review.