Capitalism and desire : the psychic cost of free markets /

Capitalism and desire : the psychic cost of free markets /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:	McGowan, Todd, author.
Imprint:	New York : Columbia University Press, [2016] ©2016
Description:	1 online resource (292 pages)
Language:	English
Subject:	Capitalism -- Psychological aspects. Capitalism -- Social aspects. Psychoanalysis -- Philosophy. Capitalism -- Psychological aspects. Capitalism -- Social aspects. Psychoanalysis -- Philosophy.
Format:	E-Resource Book
URL for this record:	http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/11407222

Hidden Bibliographic Details
ISBN:	9780231542210 0231542216 9780231178723 0231178727
Notes:	Includes bibliographical references and index. English. Print version record.
Summary:	"Why is capitalism so resilient? Despite creating vast inequalities and propping up reactionary world regimes, capitalism has many passionate defenders. But Todd McGowan argues that capitalism does not thrive because of what it withholds from some and gives to others with power. Capitalism dominates because it mimics the structure of our desire while hiding the trauma that the system inflicts upon it. People from all backgrounds enjoy what capitalism provides yet at the same time are told more and better is yet to come. Capitalism traps us by creating and sustaining an incomplete satisfaction that focuses our attention on the new, the better, and the more. Capitalism's parasitic relationship to our desire gives it the illusion of corresponding to our natural impulses, which is how capitalism's defenders characterize it. By understanding this psychic strategy, McGowan hopes to divest us of our addiction to capitalist enrichment and helps us rediscover how we enjoy. By locating enjoyment in the present and not the future, McGowan frees us from an unhealthy attachment to a better future and the belief that capitalism is an essential outgrowth of human nature. From this perspective, our economic, social, and political worlds open up to real political change. Eloquent and enlivened by examples from film, television, consumer culture, and everyday life, Capitalism and Desire brings a new, psychoanalytically grounded approach to political and social theory"--Provided by publisher.
Other form:	Print version: McGowan, Todd. Capitalism and desire. New York : Columbia University Press, [2016] 9780231178723

Table of Contents:

Introduction: after injustice and repression
The subject of desire and the subject of capitalism
The psychic constitution of private space
Shielding our eyes from the gaze
The persistence of sacrifice after its obsolescence
A God we can believe in
A more tolerable infinity
The ends of capitalism
Exchanging love for romance
Abundance and scarcity
The market's fetishistic sublime
Conclusion: enjoy, don't accumulate.