Desiderio, legge simbolica, pratiche politiche

Abstract

The paper discusses the relationship between politics and desire. It is divided into two parts. The first part addresses the contemporary debate in Italy on the disappearance of desire in favour of enjoyment. The backbone of the discourse is the idea that, within neocapitalism, a shift towards the enjoyment of commodities is occurring, which denaturalises politics, understood as a game between symbolic law and desiring movement. The historic function of patriarchy has ended, and this means that the role of the symbolic father, as the one who limits enjoyment by orienting us towards the game of desire, has come to an end. The current political-philosophical debate deals with these coordinates. The second part reconstructs the new forms of politics introduced by the women’s movement. It draws within it others and diverse significations that are given to desire, as neither in opposition to enjoyment nor to need. The theoretical implications of this are, finally, addressed.