Jung and Social Reality

Jung was always particularly interested in the development of the human mind through its collective creations : culture, myth, and religion, and in a people’s relationship with its body and customs. He felt the individuated subject owed a debt to society, and perceived the intimate bond between the group and the individual. On the other hand, he had a very negative opinion of the mob, which reawakens the primitive demons and violence domesticated by the work of civilization. Nevertheless, only when the inevitable evil is recognized and confronted with the forces of good can change be produced in ourselves and in society. The tension between these two opposites is what brings forth a third symbolic term. The author illustrates this idea with examples from current political events (Russia, Palestine) confronting us today.