Autonomy as a Fantasy

This article seeks to understand why, despite its deconstruction by a range of critical theorists, there remains a stubborn reliance on the concept of autonomy to justify privacy law, even among post-structuralists. It seeks to explain the connection between privacy and autonomy through psychoanalytic theory (particularly the work of Jacques Lacan). This article suggests that psychoanalytic theory can help explain why autonomy is a necessary but unachievable fantasy, and that law's purpose is to support this fantasy by allowing individuals to defer confronting it as a fantasy. Using the example of Australian data protection law, this article suggests that the law facilitates an economy of personal information, which imbues personal information with value and enables individuals to attempt to 'practise' autonomy by controlling the disclosure and use of 'their' personal information. But the law provides only imperfect control. It therefore provides an explanation for why complete autonomy cannot be achieved. In this way, privacy law functions as a means to manage anxiety. The article concludes by suggesting that data protection laws can and should recognise this role, and offers some tentative views on how psychoanalytic work can and should inform future law reform in this area

Autonomy · Fantasy · Political science · Psychoanalysis · Psychoanalytic theory · Sociology · Value (mathematics · Computer Science · Law · Law in Society and Culture · Privacy, Security, and Data Protection · Psychology · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology

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