Professor John Robertson OBA
In 1975, in my first year at Stirling University, I was introduced to the revolutionary ideas of the Scottish ‘anti-psychiatrist’, R D Laing. I was struck by the clarity and coherence of Laing’s central thesis in ‘The Divided Self’:
A central tenet of Laing’s thesis is the concept of the “divided self.” He proposed that individuals under severe duress, particularly within emotionally oppressive or manipulative family environments, might develop a profound split between their “true self” and a “false self.” The false self emerges as a protective mechanism, a way to conform to external expectations or to shield the vulnerable true self from perceived hostility or annihilation. This internal division, Laing argued, can lead to a sense of ontological insecurity—a fundamental uncertainty about one’s own being and reality—and a feeling of disconnection from oneself. The behaviours and experiences associated with psychosis, in this framework, are seen as manifestations of this internal fragmentation, attempts by the individual to deal with an intolerable reality where their authentic self cannot fully exist or be expressed.
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Politics is, of course, a context within which individuals representing parties with published manifestos and rigid hierarchies of power and obedience must often face, have always faced, pressures to speak and to act in ways which do not sit entirely happily with their previous, familiar, values but the gap was mostly not so large as to lead to extreme alienation and subsequent psychosis.
Recent changes in the Labour Party, however, have transformed its nature, its familiar values and its internal culture. Labour leaders, MSPs and MPs in Scotland now find themselves having to defend attacks on the poor, the disabled and even a genocidal campaign by another country. On a daily basis, they must witness shocking images of the impact on human beings, often children, of the UK Labour Party’s policies and actions and may be called upon to defend them in public.
For a Scottish Labour MP with a history of campaigning against poverty especially child poverty, homelessness and illegal wars, of campaigning for the rights of the disabled and of refugees, to then be obliged to vote for austerity policies in the UK and the sale of weapons to genocidal regimes abroad, that will harm, perhaps kills these people, must place crushing pressure on the coherence of their mental state, an intolerable reality where their authentic self cannot fully exist.
Unless of course, they are all psychopaths?
As for the members, those who vote for them, what is happening to their minds as I write?
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
A statement that I’ve been given by people is “I just don’t think about it”. This is a trick which I , thankfully, an not able to pull off, abandoning their true self.
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Yep, that’s how too many people think, or rather don’t think. Though I bumped into a church going, union loving Scottish neighbour a couple of days ago, (who I try to avoid but was cornered in a shop :-)) got chatting and not sure why, but I started saying how much the English complain about subsidising Scotland but don’t want Scotland to be independent etc..I told her what I say to those making those claims, they should send more cash and stop complaining about it, or demand Uk ditches Scotland and save loads of money. I could see the cogs going round in her heid, hope it had some effect lol!
My older neighbours were wondering if I would ‘go live in England’ as we are being turfed out of our flat in the forseeable future, god no I said, England’s terrible NHS services, no free prescriptions, high crime rates, etc so er no. I forgot to say also no bus pass for anyone under age of 66 years, if they survive that long, in England. My nieghbours use their bus passes loads and have done for a long time. They mentioned how they’d been brought up in a high crime area in Edinburgh but how that isn’t as bad now. Cogs turning?
Anyway, that’s my tuppence worth.
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There is also the bus pass for those at the other end of the age spectrum. I think it is 16-22 year olds. It seems to have been successful and resulted in more young people using buses.
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This article totally resonates with me. The Divided Self and The Politics of Experience were essential reading and certainly influenced me. I feel applying this concept to much of the, so called, Labour Party could be affording them an undeserved ‘get out of jail’ card. Starmer, Murray, Baillie, Anwar, etc. All beyond redemption.
Another great read. Thank you John.
Danny Mitchell
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Spot on, especially “unless of course, they are all psychopaths” which many of them appear to be.
Amazon currently has an excellent film about the famous Scottish psychiatrist with David Tennant in the starring role. Tennant plays Laing brilliantly. It’s called “Mad to be Normal” and focuses on his Kingsley Hall experience.
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I see where you are coming from John. However, money, they take the huge sums from the public purse and turn a blind eye, I bet they sleep soundly knowing they will never be homeless and will never not be able to afford the essentials, like food and heating and shelter, those things that are in fact human rights.
I suspect these Labour MSPs and MPs riding on the back of Scotland, but who mostly follow their masters in London on policy, and who are in fact representing England, actually benefit from the SNP’s policies of NOT imposing terrible, inhumane austerity measures on the poorest and most vulnerable. These Labcon MP’s and MSP’s rely on people not knowing how damn better off they are in Scotland.
I saw an interview with that Leishman Labcons MP in Westmonster posing as a representative of Scotland, and all he talked about were the terrible cuts to PIP etc by his masters in London.
Here we have a supposed Scottish MP, who is basically saying he is protecting the (English) poorest etc, knowing full well that the SNP who he opposes of course, are mitigating his London HQ’d parties’ attacks on the poorest and most vulnerable etc. He still takes a goodly amount of cash from the public purse of course, and the lefty channel he was being interviewed on, made no reference to Scotland NOT suffering the same level of cuts, all down to the party that he opposes, the SNP.
Lastly, these Labcons MSP’s and MP’s will sacrifice Scotland IF their masters in London take (back) control of Holyrood, they’d do the same, impose terrible cuts to the poorest, and they’d take a wrecking ball to everything positive that the SNP have done so far, I don’t need to list those measures put in place here. The list is very long as we all know and that’s the message the people of Scotland need, not Labcons’ faux outrage at their masters in London taking essential and critical funding from the poor, sick, disabled and poor, just like tRump is doing in the US.
A parcel of rogues in a nation. NO thanks Labcons.
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It would be entirely logical to assume that Labour are heading for a similar obliteration to the one they suffered in 2015. The Scottish electorate brought them up from the dungeon for another go due to familiarity contempt with the SNP. The 46 year old Neoliberalist indoctrination programme ongoing in the UK means it’s virtually impossible for a pan-UK party to deliver any policies that are even microscopically to the left of centre!
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I like that term, ‘familiarity contempt’, so true and the Brit state relies on that so much and will deploy that notion in the coming months leading up to the election in May. SNP bad, though to be realistic it’s never stopped, but they will have all sorts of tricks up their sleeves to scam Scotland even more.
As for Corbyn’s new no name party, might they be able to stand candidates in the Scottish and Welsh elections I wonder…hmm.
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Laing and Alexander Trocchi were contemporaries at Glasgow University and were highly regarded by their teachers and colleagues for their intellect. They were members of a philosophy discussion group at the University.
Both had a great deal of success in their early careers and Laing’s works, such as “The Divided Self”, introduced a different paradigm into psychiatry.
However, sadly, both men were examples of ‘divided selves’. Indeed, they were examples of ‘those whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad’. Perhaps, rather than the fictitious ‘gods’ destroying them it was the experience of growing up in Scotland before, during and after the Second World War, that produced the psychic schism which accounted for their creativity and for their self-destruction.
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