ABSTRACT
In times of anxiety and uncertainty a tension emerges between stability and chaos. A state of bounded instability can produce creativity. The 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre and the subsequent ‘war on terror’ have served to advance a culture of authoritarianism, affirming the weakness or futility of dialogue and outlawing certain forms of thought. There has also emerged a cult of the ‘dynamic leader’ who can guide the organization through uncertainty and change. Experience and observation suggest that many evolve towards stability, particularly under authoritarian leadership. Often the flow of energy, information and the richness of connectedness are actively restricted in order to retain such stability. Authoritarianism is necessary to police a collective state that is fragile and readily threatened, particularly by creative, independent, and critical thought. Individual intuition and critical thought, once the sine qua non of analytic psychotherapy, become deviant if not subversive.
