
Narcocapitalism
Life in the Age of Anaesthesia
Laurent de Sutter(Author)
Polity Press
Published on 3. November 2017
Book
Hardback
140 pages
978-1-5095-0683-5 (ISBN)
Description
What do the invention of anaesthetics in the middle of the 19th century, the Nazis' use of cocaine, and the development of Prozac have in common? The answer is that they're all products of the same logic that defines our contemporary era: "the age of anaesthesia". In Narcocapitalism, Laurent de Sutter shows how chemistry has become so much a part of us that we can't even see how much it has changed us. He retraces the unexpected stories that show how large aspects of our lives are now characterised by the management of our emotions through drugs, ranging from the everyday use of sleeping pills to hard narcotics.
In this era, being a subject doesn't simply mean being subjected to powers that decide how our lives should unfold: it means that our very emotions have been outsourced to chemical stimulation. Yet we don't understand why the drugs that we take are unable to free us from fatigue and depression, and from the absence of desire that now characterizes our psychopolitical condition. We have forgotten what it means to be excited because our only excitement has become drug-induced. We have to abandon the narcotic stimulation that we've come to rely on and find a way back to the collective excitement that is narcocapitalism's greatest fear.
Reviews / Votes
"This fascinating book can be read in many ways: as a short history of modern psycho-pharmacology, as a theory of contemporary politics as anaesthesia of the social body, as a philosophical breakthrough on the ontological dimension of depression. It should be on the must-read list of every philosopher, psychoanalyst or social activist interested in experiencing the excitement of a true intellectual adventure." Franco Berardi, Accademia di Brera, MilanMore details
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Publishing group
John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 193 mm
Width: 130 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
236 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5095-0683-5 (9781509506835)
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
03/2018
1st Edition
Wiley
€15.99
Available for download

E-Book
11/2017
1st Edition
Wiley
€15.99
Available for download

Book
11/2017
Polity Press
€20.50
Shipment within 15-20 days
Persons
Laurent de Sutter is Professor of Legal Theory at Vrije Universiteit Brussel.
Content
Thanks
Prologue: Goin' Down
Chapter 1 - Welcome to Prozacland
Chapter 2 - Narcocapitalism Unlimited
Chapter 3 - Day Without End
Chapter 4 - Swallowing the Pill
Chapter 5 - The Politics of Overexcitement
Epilogue: Getting' Up
Endnotes