This thesis proposes to investigate the discourse of ideal of autonomy that is present, in a significant way, in contemporary Western society. On the one hand, it crosses institutions – like the school – in the form of an imperative for autonomy. On the other hand, it appears in individual speeches as an appeal to autonomy, as a subjective way to free the individual from his suffering. We start from the hypothesis that the imperative to autonomy is not only a requirement, but also an urgency in our time. To understand how this occurs, we seek to make a historical and anthropological genealogy on the figure of autonomy in order to understand the construction of this ideal as an imperative discourse in the contemporary social scenario. Then, we go through the theories of J. Lacan and D. W. Winnicott, specifically the problematizations that they bring to the notion of autonomy. The first analyzes autonomy as a delusional idea, an idea that is in the order of the impossible for the barred subject; the second criticizes the imposition of the person to be autonomous, but considers that autonomy, when spontaneously manifested by the self, is an essential aspect in the process of emotional maturation, being even necessary for the subject s health. Finally, vignettes taken from our experience in the clinic and in school institutions are presented and, based on them, we support the thesis that the autonomy may be a response found by the subject to deal with the precariousization of family and social ties; in other words, the autonomy becomes urgent when he has no one to rely on.