Foundations of Psychohistory

This book is a collection of scholarly studies on the historical treatment of children, so as such it is not particularly easy to read. The book wasn't written primarily for the layman, so it is fairly dense, some articles more than others. Also, since the subject matter is almost the almost uniformly horrific torture and humiliation that has been known as child-rearing in western history, anyone with a heart will have a very hard time reading the whole book. The writers of the book show quite convincingly how various types of child abuse, being widespread in a certain society at a certain time, cause the society as a whole to function as emotionally and intellectually (and occasionally even physically) crippled adults. The hopeful aspect of the book is that they show an upward trend in child-rearing practices. Historically the trend they trace is that parents are less and less comfortable using their children for their own selfish ends, and more and more are becoming able to love and care for children unselfishly. I've found that after reading this book, and similar titles by Alice Miller and Philip Greven, the world make sense in a very different way than I ever suspected before. You know how irrationally people act, and how difficult it is to understand why? After reading this book, you will understand why, and it will break your heart.

Psychohistory might be viewed as state-of-the-art psychoanalysis extended to large groups, but it goes far beyond the clinical model of psychoanalysis, into the everyday content of human emotions such as religion, the arts, nations and economic systems."Foundations of Psychohistory" is very accessible without specialized training, but is also deeply rewarding to specialists and scholars who can tolerate the presentation of a new paradigm for the studies of both psychology and history.The psychodynamic theories of Lloyd deMause are rooted in modern trauma theory, and to a lesser degree in the object relations of Klein, Bion and Fairbairn; however, he uses his exhaustive studies of group fantasy to achieve major strides beyond these. In the opinion of this reviewer, he has written the book that defines the starting point for the depth psychology of the 21st century.In psychoanalysis, the relationships of humans with their groups, cultures and (often shared) modes of childhood experience are virtually ignored. Lloyd deMause brilliantly analyzes the methods whereby large groups achieve powerful emotional "consensus" for actions by reference to these highly charged childhood and infantile emotional experiences.This book is equally indispensable for those interested in the "why" of history, and those interested in the nature of human experience. By contrast, mainstream psychoanalysis tends to ignore the profound importance of group experiences (outside the oedipal family, or "objects of attachment"), while other social sciences tend to ignore the fact that a society consists of a group of individuals. "Foundations of Psychohistory" is a first, but giant, step towards a vastly improved understanding of the human condition.