Utopia or Bust
A Guide to the Present Crisis
Published on 11. March 2014
160 pages
978-1-78168-637-9 (ISBN)
Description
After the financial crash and the Great Recession, the media rediscovered Karl Marx, socialist theory, and the very idea that capitalism can be questioned.
But in spite of the publicity, the main paths of contemporary critical thought have gone unexplored outside of the academy. Benjamin Kunkel's Utopia or Bust leads readers-whether politically committed or simply curious-through the most important critical theory today. Written with the wit and verve of Kunkel's best-selling novel, Indecision, this introduction to contemporary Leftist thinkers engages with the revolutionary philosophy of Slavoj Zizek, the economic analyses of David Graeber and David Harvey, and the cultural diagnoses of Fredric Jameson. Discussing the ongoing crisis of capitalism in light of ideas of full employment, debt forgiveness, and "fictitious capital," Utopia or Bust is a tour through the world of Marxist thought and an examination of the basis of Western society today.
But in spite of the publicity, the main paths of contemporary critical thought have gone unexplored outside of the academy. Benjamin Kunkel's Utopia or Bust leads readers-whether politically committed or simply curious-through the most important critical theory today. Written with the wit and verve of Kunkel's best-selling novel, Indecision, this introduction to contemporary Leftist thinkers engages with the revolutionary philosophy of Slavoj Zizek, the economic analyses of David Graeber and David Harvey, and the cultural diagnoses of Fredric Jameson. Discussing the ongoing crisis of capitalism in light of ideas of full employment, debt forgiveness, and "fictitious capital," Utopia or Bust is a tour through the world of Marxist thought and an examination of the basis of Western society today.
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Series
Edition
Ebook UK & RoW
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Reflowable
Readable offline
ISBN-13
978-1-78168-637-9 (9781781686379)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
03/2014
Verso Books
€24.00
Shipment within 3-4 weeks
Person
Benjamin Kunkel is the bestselling author of Indecision and a co-founder of n+1. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the New Yorker, the New York Review of Books and the London Review of Books.
Content
- Intro
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Introduction
- 1. David Harvey: Crisis Theory
- 2. Fredric Jameson: The Cultural Logic of Neoliberalism
- 3. Robert Brenner: Full Employment and the Long Downturn
- 4. David Graeber: In the Midst of Life We Are in Debt
- 5. Slavoj Zizek: The Unbearable Lightness of "Communism"
- 6. Boris Groys: Aesthetics of Utopia
- Guide to Further Reading
