Charyzma i terapia. Uwagi o znaczeniu myśli Philipa Rieffa dla teorii legitymizacji
Charisma and Therapy. Comments on the Importance of Philip Rieff’s Though for the Theory of Legitimacy

Summary/Abstract: RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article is to analyze Philip Rieff’s political thought, especially his theory of therapeutic culture and charisma, in the context of the broadly understood problem of legitimation. In particular, I am interested in the following issues: 1) Rieff’s theory of therapeutic culture; 2) The place of authority in therapeutic culture; 3) A dispute with Max Weber about understanding charisma. THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: This article deals with the problem of the legitimacy of authority in a culture that is programmatically reluctant to it. To this end, I turn to Philip Rieff’s theory of culture to answer two main questions. The first, more general: Why is authority so strongly opposed in contemporary culture? The second, more specific: What is the place of charisma in this context? This article is a study of political thought in hermeneutical tradition. THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The starting point of my argument is to outline Philip Rieff’s concept of therapeutic culture. I argue that the emergence of this type of culture creates difficulties for the functioning of authority. I use the concept of charisma as a category that can be treated, to some extent, as an antidote to the crisis of authority. However, I do not agree with Weber’s theory of charisma, which is dominant in social sciences. Referring to Philip Rieff, I am trying to reformulate this concept. RESEARCH RESULTS: I argue that the therapeutic culture poses a great challenge to the legitimization of authority. Charisma may be a source of inspiration, but only if we reformulate its understanding. Charisma should first of all be understood as the ability to recreate a system of norms without which no political order can exist. CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS: We should look at the phenomenon of charisma in a more favorable way. We need charisma, properly understood, especially in small communities.

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