A Lacanian interpretation of identity work in the entrepreneurial state: The case of Chile

A Lacanian interpretation of identity work in the entrepreneurial state: The case of Chile

Authors

  • Francisco Valenzuela
  • Gustavo Sánchez

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5027/psicoperspectivas-Vol17-Issue3-fulltext-1378

Keywords:

Lacan, organization, post-neoliberalism, state, subject, entrepreneurial state, enterprise and process of subjectivation, identity process, Lacanian psychoanalysis, discourse and subjectivity,

Abstract

This article contends that a Lacanian approach to the study of organizations can make a significant contribution to the analysis of subjectivity in the context of (post-)neoliberalism in Latin America. With aims at answering the question about what drives the public-servant-subject to insist on articulating the discourse of enterprise, and thus to reproduce its hegemonic status, we explore the interview testimonies of Chilean public managers in charge of designing and implementing entrepreneurship-fostering policies. Our analysis, based on Lacan's conceptualization of the imaginary and symbolic registers of subjectivity, reveals how a continued work of identification is made possible by the subject's reliance on both post-bureaucratic and bureaucratic discursive resources. Our findings contribute to expand a fairly unexplored line of research in organization and management studies in the Latin American context, and to critically evaluate claims about the emergence of a ‘post-neoliberal' era across the region.    

Author Biography

Francisco Valenzuela

Profesor Asistente

Departamento de Administración

Facultad de Economía y Negocios

Universidad de Chile

Published

2018-11-12

How to Cite

Valenzuela, F., & Sánchez, G. (2018). A Lacanian interpretation of identity work in the entrepreneurial state: The case of Chile. Psicoperspectivas, 17(3). https://doi.org/10.5027/psicoperspectivas-Vol17-Issue3-fulltext-1378
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