Commemorating May 1968: the anarchist imagery and negative leadership

Abstract

In 2018, 50 years of the ‘events of May 1968’ were com-memorated. In Brazil, we com-memorated five years of June 2013, part of the compound ‘cycle of struggles’. Both moments incite us to think about them even today. Although they ended as an act, their existence nowadays consists of affection and effect. They are part of collective memory, a co-memory that allows experiences based on what they have produced. In terms of meanings, thoughts and remains that are manifested in the socio-political and ‘collective subjectivity’ fields. In this paper, I highlight two related elements of such events: the anarchist imaginary and the consolidation of what I call ‘negative leadership’. Psychoanalysis is the theoretical support for our considerations, especially regarding repetition.

Keywords:
leadership; collectivity; May 1968; cycle of struggles; psychoanalysis