The Mass Psychology of Fascism

[mikebailey at speakeasy.net]

> From: Ghetta Life [mailto:ghetta_outta at hotmail.com]
> >From: "Billy Genocide" <billygenocide at gmail.com>
> >
> >
> >If there wasn't anything to Reich's work, then why do you suppose the US 
> >government was so threatened by it that they chose to destroy his labs, 
> >burn all of his books, and put him in prison?
> >
> 
> Just because "They" (THE US GOVERNMENT) are paranoid doesn' mean They have a 
> real threat on Their hands (that should be obvious these days...).  And how 
> would Reich's work have threatened "Them?"
> 

After the scholarly part of his career, where he made some peer-reviewed contributions that are still respected, Reich morphed into a mad scientist, who spun big theories and built a variant worldview from first principles.  

So in a way he grew from producing case histories and monographs to producing literature, which is fun to read like stories about Vheissu or Prester John, yielding interesting reflections...and he made some tentative mappings on big blank areas that seem like they'd be interesting things for people to investigate someday...some delectable reading! The guy at orgonelab struck me as being pretty darn smart, he's dedicated his professional life to following up some of Reich's leads, and he writes quite well.  Not that I'm ready to quit my day job to sit at his feet or anything...

...but anyway, when Reich claimed a cancer cure he posed a threat to the AMA monopoly/trade-union whose amazing political power then and now is not to be underestimated. In M&D, cousin DePugh, after lessons from Mesmer, contemplated moving out to the wilderness to practice medicine; whereupon his relatives remind him that those already practicing might resent his incursion, since monopoly, rather than competition, is favored by many tradesmen...he begins thinking about acquiring firearms...but then is reminded that a city like New York or Philadelphia might have room for Mesmerists...so maybe Reich's mistake was in moving to Maine...

(---Mises.org has some good stuff on the AMA - in a truly free market, Reich's medical claims could sink or swim on their own merit; he must have had some satisfied customers, even if simply due to the salutary effects of "placebo with props."  
(like Crowley's "nothingness with twinkles - but o, such twinkles!")---)

The power Reich claimed to influence the weather could pose a legitimate security threat.  Another suppressed technology, radionics, made similar dangerous claims about being able to train the devices onto a map and kill pests, o-or even people. 

Reich was imprisoned for not showing up in court, even though his lawyer was convinced he had a good case.  Ie, the gov't was not particularly harsh or brutal, but was acting within custom to guard the populace and the financial interests of the politically favored.  He had a chance to find a compromise or even vindication within the law but opted to become a martyr. The osteopaths persisted in court and won the right to exist after a legal struggle, and more recently chiropractors and homeopaths have made some strides - the US legal system is our friend!

Reichian therapy seems more desirable than some - for instance, lobotomies, which were still being performed in his time; ect; insulin shock; expensive drugs with severe side effects and limited efficacy.

That said, for psychology, I like Szasz and Laing better.  a-and that A.S. Neill, who knew Reich, who appeared in "Mad Scientist" with Kevin Bacon --- and Lloyd George knew my father (-: