Freedom and authority in the Clinical Diary

The paper discusses some philosophical, ethical and political-philosophical implications of Ferenczi's Clinical Diary, with special regard to the concepts of freedom and authority. These topics are already present in Ferenczi's early writings that explicitly deal with social and political issues, the central concept of which is "individual socialism". The paper also discusses (and publishes in Appendix) two short manuscripts by Ferenczi, written probably in 1920, which attempts to parallel psychoanalysis with Marxism, and with liberal socialism, respectively. It is shown that in 1932, the last year of his life, Ferenczi avoids using political and ideological concepts directly in his Diary, but, in the spirit of his earlier writings, he proposes a balance between "ruthless capitalism and fanciful egalitarianism". Finally, the significance of Utopia in Ferenczi's thinking is discussed.