Psyche, Socialism, Play

Marcuse proposes that Freud's Primary Narcissism is a condition that, as repression- and alienation-free, can function as a Psychological foundation of the members of a Socialist society.  However, this innocent wonder at the world, regardless of its degree of fidelity to the mythical character on which the name is based, is inadequate for the purpose.  For, a cardinal feature of Socialism is its priority of Practice over Theory, which is not entailed in such wonder.  In contrast, Play is both innocent and Practical, and, which, upon the encountering of consequences, can be modified, both healthily or otherwise, e. g. channeled into purposeful labor, or repressed or alienated.  Passages in the German Ideology that describe Socialist life suggest a recovery of purposeless enjoyment, thereby reinforcing the proposal that Play is the condition of the Psyche of its members that can adequately found a Socialist society.