Capital's Grave
Neofeudalism and the New Class Struggle
Published on 18. March 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
192 pages
978-1-80429-519-9 (ISBN)
Description
Bringing together analyses from different fields-law, technology, Marxism, and psychoanalysis-Jodi Dean shows the direction the contemporary world is heading: neofeudalism. Feudalism isn't just a metaphor. It's the operating system for the present. Politics and plunder thrive in the capitalist pursuit of profit, and the many are bound to serve the few, coerced into a system of rents, destruction, and hoarding driven by privilege and dependence.
The question is: In a society of serfs and servants, how do we get free?
With the rise of neofeudalism, and as more and more workers are drawn into the service sector-from nurses to Uber and delivery drivers-Dean argues that we can see the emergence of a new vanguard, the class that can lead the struggle for liberation from oppression and exploitation: what she calls the servant vanguard.
The question is: In a society of serfs and servants, how do we get free?
With the rise of neofeudalism, and as more and more workers are drawn into the service sector-from nurses to Uber and delivery drivers-Dean argues that we can see the emergence of a new vanguard, the class that can lead the struggle for liberation from oppression and exploitation: what she calls the servant vanguard.
Reviews / Votes
A piercing look at how capitalism is killing itself as it entangles us in a web of techno-feudal power relations. -- Yanis Varoufakis, author of <i>Technofeudalism</i> Dean provides the most rigorous account of what a neofeudal society entails. Every page is a provocation, every sentence is a delight -- Corey Robin, author of <i>The Enigma of Clarence Thomas</i> Dean's new book gives us plenty to talk about -- Ed Meek * Arts Fuse * Dean's new book delivers critical insights on humanity and society. -- Ron Jacobs * Counterpunch * Seeks to update Marx for a world that Dean thinks is starting to look less like the classical industrial capitalism he wrote about than a kind of high-tech feudalism. -- Ben Burgis * UnHerd *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 208 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
206 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80429-519-9 (9781804295199)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
03/2025
Verso Books
€24.49
Available for download
Person
Jodi Dean teaches political, feminist, and media theory in Geneva, New York. She has written or edited thirteen books, including The Communist Horizon, Crowds and Party and COMRADE, published by Verso.
Content
Introduction: Capital's Grave
Chapter 1 What the Grundrisse Tells Us About Uber
Chapter 2 Forwards Can Be Backwards: On Transition and Temporality
Chapter 3 Neofeudalism's Basic Features
Chapter 4 The Subject Supposed to Care
Conclusion The Servant Vanguard
Chapter 1 What the Grundrisse Tells Us About Uber
Chapter 2 Forwards Can Be Backwards: On Transition and Temporality
Chapter 3 Neofeudalism's Basic Features
Chapter 4 The Subject Supposed to Care
Conclusion The Servant Vanguard