Acid Horizon Wilhelm Reich, Fascism & Work Democracy: Philip Bennett & David Silver at Orgonon
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Sep 9, 2025 Join David Silver, the executive director of the Wilhelm Reich Museum, and Philip Bennett, a professor and author focused on Reich's social and political influence. They delve into Reich's fascinating journey from Freud's student to a radical thinker challenging repression and authoritarianism. The conversation covers his ideas on work democracy, mass psychology, and the impact of his controversial experiments at Orgonon. Their insights offer a fresh perspective on how Reich's legacy resonates in today's socio-political climate.
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From Teen Reader To Museum Director
- David Silver discovered Wilhelm Reich as a teenager through friends linked to Philip Bennett's classes and later began therapy with a Reich-trained doctor.
- He eventually shifted careers and now directs the Wilhelm Reich Museum at Orgonon in Rangeley, Maine.
Personal Experience With Orgone Therapy
- Philip Bennett began Reichian therapy in 1963 and reports deep emotional releases like crying and rage within weeks.
- He continues in that therapeutic lineage and remains engaged with Reich's methods decades later.
Therapy Shaped By Social Context
- Reich moved from medicine into psychoanalysis after student seminars on sexuality and early contact with Freud.
- His ground-level work with the poor pushed him leftward and eventually into secret Communist Party membership.
