ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the problem of “narcissism of minor differences” in clinical and social situations. We first revisit the concept of narcissism from the perspective of Freudian-Lacanian psychoanalysis and Jungian analytical psychology. We can see today the overconsumption of this term and the oversimplification of social phenomena, categorizing lifestyles, new media, and even societies as narcissistic. Such overuse not only exploits its meaning but obscures the problem around it. So, it is necessary to correct the confusion about “narcissism” and give it a new definition. Then, we examine “narcissism of minor differences” proposed by Freud as a perspective for understanding contemporary phenomena. Characterized by aggression and rejection, this notion is thought to be opposed to love and solidarity and to have a segregative effect on the social bond and is therefore understood exclusively as pathological. Our redefinition, however, indicates that it is not necessarily pathological or destructive but rather contributes to the formation of identity and its stabilization in this unstable and liquid world.
