Essay on a Culture of Mania: A Psychoanalytic View of the Incubation of the 2008 Credit Crisis

Steins article explores the wider changes in cultural that shaped the 2008 credit crisis conditions. Stein developed a theoretical context around the manic philosophy notion that encompasses over-activity, triumphalism, denial, and omnipotence aspects as based on Freud (psychoanalysis) theory and the theorys application to social and organizational dynamics (Stein 2011, p.1). Upon developing such theoretical context, Stein applies such notion to the 2008 credit crisis arguing the development of a mania culture started after the 2008 events as led by such incubation period that lasted more than 20 years.

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In making an exploration of the cultural changes that led to the credit crisis in 2008, Stein makes his conclusions and drawing from psychoanalysis to apply it in the social dynamics of the society at hand. Stein comes up his arguments using Japanese and South East Asia as reference points and all his examples are drawn from them. The arguments presented are based on the fact that many huge cases came out during the age of capitalism and they did not come as indicators of any warning. It only increased the risks which people were imposed to in the long run. The feelings in the West were triumphant as they felt communism had fallen in their favor. This is the reason as to why he claims that the maniac culture was key in causing the conditions that led to the credit crisis in 2008.

Present the elements of the theory, or main concepts in the Article

Freud established the personality growth psychoanalytic theory that argues that struggles amongst three central configurations of the mind of humans, that is, ego, id, and the superego form personality. Freud claimed that any rejection of such psychoanalytic discoveries by humans is founded on such resistance to the sexual and upsetting nature of human discoveries (Gay1995, p.175). That, as the removal of repression results in saving from an economic viewpoint, the maintenance, and mobility of any such repression entails an uninterrupted disbursement of some force.

Stein suggests that the 2008 credit crisis occurred due to a manic culture, a culture not able to positively work on observations in robust approach and see any such forewarnings earnestly. The 2008 culture members and leaders noted and observed vulnerabilities and problems, but sensed the threat of the observations since those leaders felt the need for concern and registration of such involved warnings (Stein 2011, p.176). That, instead of initiating appropriate attention to the vulnerabilities and problems, the people in hyper states felt the weaknesses and problems as a contest to their omnipotence sense and therefore inclined to react to them just to demonstrate their power.

Stein based his arguments on the systems psychodynamic traditions of the society. In doing this, he was mainly rooted on the individual mania in order find out some of the other levels that cooperated within the entire culture or organization. This was an application of Melanie Kleins idea. This brings up one of the other main concepts in the article which is an extensive study in relation to organizations and what they practice. Kleins idea had never been used before, and this means that new ideas were now raised and availed in this part of the article. It still from Kleins idea that the different types of maniac culture are outlined. In a way, Klein has contributed immensely in this sector.

Describe and assess the conclusions given

Stein argues that a chain of main capitalism ruptures during the period of incubation served as opportunities not warnings for such manic reaction, thus intensely increasing involved risks (Stein 2011, p.177). In suggesting that the frenzied culture cast a noteworthy duty in generating the circumstances for complications that steered the 2008 credit disaster, Stein contends that the Wests triumphant feelings over the downfall of communism strengthened and triggered the mania.

While any healthy person will participate in happenings in an appropriate and thoughtful way, the persons in an overexcited nation will participate in over-activity to dismiss any such concerns on their vulnerabilities and risks. Passion is an extreme mind state that encompasses a leaning towards being enormously over-active.

Nevertheless, on value and capital, Freud recuperated force in a psychically thrilled cathexis, indicating that any analysis of cultural requires a reviewed bidding in the cultures ideas Steinetplace. Cultures principal logic should more prudently interrogate force as well as its representative expression in value economies (Thurschwell 2009, p.11). From such congelation of indistinguishable human employment, monetary value grows to interrogate any radical economy with a serious bias; that, money is a form of privileged value that drives any conventional economy.

The other conclusion that has been made is on the frameworks used to come up with the analysis at the end. It involves working with psychoanalysis ideas by placing them into social and organizational dynamics to have a good formulation of culture of mania. Some of the characteristics used to specify culture are denial, over-activity, triumphalism and omnipotence. This conclusion is ideal since every culture has its own way of interpreting things. This varies depending on the geographical location. In addition to this, the explanation of the conclusion was backed up by the fact that people overlook some ideas and they do not have a clue that whatever they are dealing with is a warning being presented to them in a form which needs to be interpreted skillfully. It is at this point that people end up taking unprecedented risks.

Comment on Articles strengths, including the explanatory power

The articles strength is in the use of the psychoanalytic thinking to help humans extended their understanding of organizational and social phenomena. Stein analyses are living in an overexcited country to illustrate the weakness of both the leaders and members of society to solve an eminent problem just because of ego.

The article is still credible by using a good technique to bring out its points. This is where there are some cases studies made as examples on how culture mania is exhibited in the current society. One might not be able to understand the explanations given, but the case studies on Japanese people and the others in South East area make everything to become easy in adaptation and interpretation.

Comment on Articles strengths, including the explanatory power

Steins psychoanalytic notion is not open to experimental confirmation and validation. His use of the psychoanalytic theory in relation to the 2008 credit crisis is dysfunctional. From the article, there is uncertainty in the application of such psychoanalytic notion of the crisis and the people level is short of reification.

Conclusion

The people in spots of economic and political management in Western cultures noted and observed the sequence of main ruptures in the industrial economies and developed extensive anxiety. Instead of noticing lessons of such crises, the leaders reacted with omnipotent, triumphant and manic efforts to demonstrate their country economies superiority in regards to vulnerabilities emerging of such ruptures. It is such response that opened up obfuscation and destruction of any data on top of disassembling of governing systems of warning, creating reassuring mythologies. Such manic philosophy was prejudiced by a successful reaction in Wests communism downfall, thus, setting in place the 2008 credit crisis conditions.

ReferencesStein, M. (2011), A culture of mania: a psychoanalytic view of the incubation of the 2008 credit crisis. Organization, [online] 18(2), pp.173-186, Available at: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1350508410390071 [Accessed 2 Mar. 2017]

Thurschwell, P., 2009. Sigmund Freud. Routledge, pp. 8 Available at: http://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/31615969/25908795-Sigmund-Freud-by-Pamela-Thurschwell-Routledge-Critical-Thinkers.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1488492692&Signature=C%2F%2F5D5kLG4V%2BoFfZfi6tTacI4cM%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3D25908795_Sigmund_Freud_by_Pamela_Thursch.pdf [Accessed 2 Mar. 2017]

Freud, S. and Gay, P., 1995, The Freud Reader, WW Norton & Company.