This compelling book traces the rise of psychoanalysis from the Frankfurt School to postmodernism, exploring in detail the social and political factors that have led intellectuals to draw from the insights of Freud.

1. Social Theory and Psychoanalysis: The Story So Far 2. Self and Society: Freud and Castoriadis on Imagination 3. Desire in Language: Kristeva and Laplanche on Repression 4. The Social Imaginary and Social Research 5. In Defence of Imagination: Concluding Remarks

Anthony Elliott is Professor of Social and Political Theory at the University of the West of England, where he is Director of the Centre for Critical Theory.