The Economics of Libido: Psychic Bisexuality, the Superego, and the Centrality of the Oedipus Complex

By: Trevor C. Pederson

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Synopsis: This book is an attempt to get beyond pluralism by embedding psychoanalysis in philosophy and returning to Freud qua psychologist to link the depths of the mind to its surface. Beginning with the proposition that egoism and altruism are a more accurate representation of the binary of activity and passivity, The Economics of Libido revisits Freud's work to contextualize his central concepts and expand upon them. Egoism and altruism are further divided into masculine and feminine drives which can exist in either sex due to psychic bisexuality. The author's Freud places the Oedipus complex as the height of personal happiness in striving for passionate love or success while maturing through a series of educators and mentors. The subsequent father complex is snatched from obscurity as the recreation of the parental incest taboo amongst siblings. The ideal of commitment in relationships, fairness in one's dealings with peers, and Freud's emphasis on the non-universality of guilt are given their proper weight in his model.