Citton, Y. (2025). Mythocracy: How Stories Shape Our Worlds (D. Broder, Trans.). Verso.

Overview and Central Thesis Mythocracy is a theoretical exploration of how narratives—particularly myths—shape political imaginaries and affect human behavior. Drawing from philosophy, media studies, and political theory, Citton proposes that we live not just under democracies or theocracies but increasingly under mythocracies—systems structured and steered by stories that channel desires, beliefs, and behaviors.

The book's key thesis is that scripting—the process of influencing conduct through narratives—has become a primary form of soft power. Mythocracy names the regime in which this scripting predominates, shaping not only public discourse but also the contours of subjectivity itself​ .

Chapter Summaries Introduction: ‘Scripting’ and Soft Power The introduction lays out the conceptual field. Citton distinguishes between coercive (hard) power and soft power, which operates through narrative, suggestion, and imagination. The book’s aim is not to prescribe policies but to analyze how stories script realities​ .

Chapter 1: Reformulating Our Imaginary of Power This chapter critiques conventional theories of power rooted in divine or sovereign authority. Inspired by Spinoza, Foucault, and Deleuze, Citton reimagines power as emerging from immanent social flows rather than descending from above​ .

Chapter 2: Modelling the Circulation of Power Citton introduces a model of power as a network of circulating beliefs and desires. Power is understood as a fluid “flow” rather than a fixed resource. This framework underpins his later discussion of conspiracy theories and collective imaginaries​ .

Chapter 3: Scripting as an Activity Here, Citton defines scripting as a structuring force in society—how narratives not only reflect but actively shape our actions. He emphasizes how scripting emerges from both top-down media and bottom-up collective practices​ .

Illustrative Interlude: Scripting from Up There An interlude exploring the historical lineage of “scripting from above,” e.g., royal pageantry and media spectacle. It stresses how scripting today is more pervasive, precise, and insidious than ever, even though coercive hard power remains omnipresent​ .

Chapter 4: Attractors and Infra-Politics Citton discusses the micro-political forces (infra-politics) that shape our actions beneath the radar of formal politics. He critiques “plots” and causal imputations as too rigid, proposing instead a fluid understanding of how narratives orient public sentiment​ .

Chapter 5: New Demands for Equality He revisits the history of leftist politics, identifying four modes of rejection: of divinity, sovereignty, appropriation, and the given. These rejections fuel left-wing imaginaries that seek to challenge the status quo not merely by managing it, but by imagining alternatives​ .

Literary Interlude: From Interrupted Myth to Epic in the Making This interlude reflects on the decline of classical narrative forms and the rise of fragmented or nonlinear storytelling. It critiques simplistic narrative structures (e.g., beginning–middle–end) in favor of more open, experimental forms of narration​ .

Chapter 6: Renewing Left-Wing Imaginaries Citton urges the left to embrace gaucheness—clumsiness or maladroitness—as a strength. He envisions a left politics that is experimental, dream-driven, and grounded in mythic aspiration rather than technocratic realism​ .

He also introduces the figure of the virtual quidam, an anonymous visionary whose dreams and myths circulate in the public sphere, shaping imaginaries without the trappings of individualist mastery​ .

Afterword (2025): Mythocracies and Conspiracies The afterword updates the concept of mythocracy in light of contemporary political trends and the rise of conspiracy theories. Citton distinguishes between conspiracies as “breathing together” (shared atmospheres) and complots as harmful plots. He warns against seeing every political condition as the result of a conspiracy, but insists that scripting remains key to understanding these phenomena​ .

Definition and Significance of Mythocracy Mythocracy is defined as “what you never came to be that you should be”—a regime of stories that bridge the gap between actual and virtual potentiality. Rather than being a nefarious force, mythocracy can help reorient society toward collective liberation—if we become aware of the stories we live by and work to create better ones​ .

Mythocracy thus becomes both a diagnosis and a proposal: a call to engage with myths consciously, ethically, and creatively.