Full Description
Capitalisms' Future: Alienation, Emancipation and Critique frames 21st century economic and social possibilities in a dialogue between two forms of critical social theory: Marx's critique of political economy that analyzes capitalism and the critique of political psychology that analyzes authoritarianism. Contributions from social theorists in sociology, philosophy, and cultural studies are brought together to dissect and critique capitalist crises, left-liberalism, left-Thatcherism, resistance to risk-pooling, idealist philosophy, undemocratic social character, status wages and authoritarian spectacles. Throughout, Marx's centrality to critical social theory is confirmed, both alone and in in powerful combination with Adorno, Durkheim, Dubois, Lacan, Veblen, Weber and others. This book outlines conjoined critiques of commodity-fetishism and authority fetishism as the emancipatory agenda of 21st century critical theory.
Contributors are: Kevin S. Amidon, Graham Cassano, Tony A. Feldmann, Daniel Krier, Christian Lotz, Patrick Murray, David Norman Smith, Tony Smith, William J. Swart, and Mark P. Worrell.
Contents
Acknowledgement
Notes on Contributors
Introduction
Daniel Krier and Mark P. Worrell
TOWARDS A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF CRITICAL THEORY
1. Capitalism's Future: Self Alienation, Self-Emancipation and the Remaking of Critical Theory
David Norman Smith
SECTION 1: CAPITALISM'S FUTURE AND THE CRITIQUE OF POLITICAL ECONOMY
2. Beyond Left Liberalism: A Critical Look at Proposals to Reform the Capital/Wage Labor Relation
Tony Smith
3. Left Thatcherism: Recent Critical Theory and Post-Marxism(s) in the Light of Marxian Social Ontology
Christian Lotz
4. Capital's Reach: How Capital Shapes and Subsumes
Patrick Murray
5. Easing the Encumbered Subject: Security, Speculation and Capitalist Subjectivity
Kevin Amidon and Daniel Krier
SECTION 2: CAPITALISM'S FUTURE AND THE CRITIQUE OF POLITICAL PSYCHOLOGY
6. The Idolatry of Mind: Durkheim's Critique of Idealism
Mark P. Worrell
7. Social Character in Western Pre-Modernity: Lacanian Psychosis in Wladyslaw Reymont's The Peasants
Daniel Krier and Tony Feldmann
8. Pragmatism's Status Wage and the Standpoint of the Stranger
Graham Cassano
9. Dark Spectacle: Authoritarian Performance and the Commodity Form
William J. Swart and Daniel Krier
Index
