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l'Information Psychiatrique. Volume 82, Number 9, 749-56, Novembre 2006, Cas clinique

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Author(s) : Eduardo T Mahieu

Summary : Mr S. or the treasure of subjective economyThe case study of a patient who hoards objects in a psychiatric hospital leads to a questioning of the psychopathological, diagnostic and therapeutic problematic. We base ourselves on a quote from K. Marx who compares the mad capitalist with the rational hoarder, two ways of dealing with merchandise. Lacan states that political economy is similar to subjective economy. In this work, we therefore confront the case of our patient, as well as the Diogenes syndrome and the hoarding beggars of E. Dupré, with political economy. These pathologies thus appear as particularly burdensome responses to the fetishist nature of merchandise, and also as simple variations of overall social functioning. From this comparison we obtain information to help us with clinical practice and institutional therapy.

Keywords : object, fetish, merchandise, added value, jouissance, madness, melancholia, paranoia, Diogenes syndrome