collective subconscious - TOWARDS LIFE-KNOWLEDGE

This report presents a psycho-political analysis of United States foreign policy, positing that U.S. international behavior is driven by a “collective subconscious” rather than purely rational calculation. Drawing on the “Chosenness-Myths-Traumas” (CMT) and “Dichotomy-Manicheism-Armageddon” (DMA) syndromes, the text argues that deep-seated cultural archetypes compel the U.S. toward recurrent violence and a rejection of nonviolent alternatives. Through the examination of historical case studies — including the atomic bombings of Japan, the Cold War, and interventions in Latin America and the Middle East — the author illustrates how these pathologies manifest as a “repetition compulsion.” The report concludes with a prognosis of potential imperial decline if these syndromes remain unaddressed and offers a “therapy” focused on bringing national narratives to light, disarmament, and the strengthening of global civil society.

This paper by Johan Galtung analyzes the deep-rooted cultural, psychological, and structural drivers underlying U.S. foreign policy, conceptualizing them as collective “pathologies” that are projected globally through patterns of violence, domination, and exceptionalism. Using psychoanalytic metaphors and systems theory, Galtung identifies three interlinked complexes — Chosenness-Myths-Traumas (CMT), Dichotomy-Manicheism-Armageddon (DMA), and Repression-Projection (RP) — as embedded in the U.S. collective subconscious and shaping elite decision-making. He argues that these archetypal forces narrow foreign policy choices, sustain a worldview of “Good vs. Evil,” and normalize violent interventions while marginalizing nonviolent alternatives. Through ten case studies — including Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Cold War, Vietnam, U.S. policy in Latin America, Israel-Palestine, and the Gulf War — the paper demonstrates how these deep structures reproduce global violence and inhibit rational, cooperative responses. Galtung concludes by calling for “therapies” to deconstruct these unconscious pathologies and foster new forms of dialogue, empathy, and multilateralism as pathways toward sustainable peace