In this book, Colin Cremin tackles the overbearing truth that capitalism encompasses the totality... more In this book, Colin Cremin tackles the overbearing truth that capitalism encompasses the totality of our societal relations, weaving deep into the fabric of all that it means to be human. He shows how it is a system that totalises and which has upended the modernity project by industrialised warfare, surveillance, commodification and control. With ever deepening crises and ecological catastrophes it threatens the total destruction of human civilisation. But in amongst this wreckage there are still functioning parts, machines to be salvaged through the collective force of the human imagination and the total mobilisation of the peoples of this earth. We must realise a different future to the apocalypticism forewarned by scientists, prescribed by economists, accommodated by politicians and made spectacle by the entertainment industry.
Totalled maps the deteriorating socio-economic, political and ecological conditions in which we live and, through our labours and consumption, seemingly have no choice other than to accelerate. The question for the book is how a utopian possibility discernable in the power of human creation can be realised when as a society we are in different ways materially, ideologically and libidinally bound to the capitalist machine of destruction. Totalled concludes with a politically and economically grounded set of propositions on how this might be achieved.
From broadsheet newspapers to television shows and Hollywood films, capitalism is increasingly re... more From broadsheet newspapers to television shows and Hollywood films, capitalism is increasingly recognised as a system detrimental to human existence. Colin Cremin investigates why, despite this de-robing, capitalism remains a powerful and seductive force.
Using materialist, psychoanalytic and linguistic approaches, Cremin shows how capitalism, anxiety and desire enter into a mutually supporting relationship. He identifies three ways in which we are tied in to capitalism – through a social imperative for enterprise and competition; through enjoyment and consumption; and through the depoliticisation of ethical debate by government and business.
Capitalism's New Clothes is ideal for students of sociology and for anyone worried about the ethics of capitalism or embarrassed by the enjoyments the system has afforded them.
AbstrAct | Herbert Marcuse's influence on students and intellectuals in the Sixties is comparable... more AbstrAct | Herbert Marcuse's influence on students and intellectuals in the Sixties is comparable to the influence that Slavoj Žižek enjoys today. Both have developed their critical theories through Marxist materialism, Hegelian idealism, and psychoan-alytical theory of the subject. Both have produced polemical texts on liberal tolerance and the need for revolutionary violence, and both have invoked the idea of utopia against the ideology of there is no alternative to the market. The article situates Marcuse in today's context of austerity rather than the context of rising affluence the " one-dimensional " " happy consciousness " was said to inhabit. Marcuse's critique of a system that legitimates its power through the scarcities that constant exploitation and expansion breeds is especially relevant now that the logic of austerity envelops politics, society, and subjectivity. Making comparisons to Žižek, the article provides an overview of Marcuse's ideas before considering their value in current circumstances. A case is made for why Marcuse is relevant today and why the call for the liberation of Eros remains pertinent.
Critical theorists often argue that prosumption leads to new forms of exploitation. For example, ... more Critical theorists often argue that prosumption leads to new forms of exploitation. For example, social media users generate and produce content for social media pages, but undertake this activity in their leisure time and through their 'free labour'. Yet, the vast majority are paid nothing by social media companies for their efforts. However, we are sceptical of this particular critical account primarily because we do not believe the framework of 'exploitation' is particularly useful when analysing the activity of prosumers. From an alternative Marxist perspective, we suggest, instead, that one important element of prosumption lies in its capacity and potential to develop a new fetish for different capitalist relations. Three main groups of theorists are drawn upon to make this argument: Deleuze and Guattari, Adorno and Horkheimer, and Marcuse and Z ˇ ižek. From Deleuze and Guattari, we develop the idea that capitalist desire unleashes affectual and creative energies of fetishism, which today can be channelled into pro-sumption. From Adorno and Horkheimer, we show that this desire is realised through the adaptation of a factory-style do-it-yourself culture to aesthetic production and prosumption within society more generally. From Marcuse, we argue that while capitalism instils in people a desire to consume, it also creates a desire to be liberated from capital which also, as Z ˇ ižek emphasises, becomes in the form of ethical consumption another object to obtain through capital. In conclusion, we suggest these authors provide a theoretical basis to move beyond problematic dualist accounts that divide and separate prosumers and knowledge capitalism from the circuit of industrial capital.
‘Desire’, said Deleuze and Guattari, ‘is shamed, stupefied… it is easily persuaded to deny “itsel... more ‘Desire’, said Deleuze and Guattari, ‘is shamed, stupefied… it is easily persuaded to deny “itself” in the name of more important interests of civilisation’. Today desire is being shamed for what it has apparently done to the economy and ecology. With all roads leading to austerity, all fingers point at a generic subspecies called ‘the consumer’. After all, their crass individualism, selfishness and greed has corroded public life, contributed to the depletion of planetary resources, the rise of sweatshops in India and skyrocketing food prices in Africa. And now, by ‘binging on easy credit’, consumers are also to blame for the economic crisis. Drawing on iCommunism, published in 2012 with Zer0 Books, the paper mounts a defence of the consumer. It argues against the logic of austerity whether justified for economic or ecological reasons and invokes Herbert Marcuse who saw Eros – the pleasure principle – as a liberating force.
Unlike Biblical prophesies or the Protestant belief in predestination, the more secularised apoca... more Unlike Biblical prophesies or the Protestant belief in predestination, the more secularised apocalyptic prophesies today offer no redemption, spur no industry: provoke no revolution. Rather, they encourage a fatalism and misanthropy. Apocalypse, David Noel Freedman notes, ‘was born of crisis’. Drawing on the materialist linguistic theories of the Bakhtin Circle, the paper aims to identify how apocalyptic thinking in this age of crises differs from that of the past, how it is being refracted through the prism of a dominant ideology and the potential consequences this has for how we think about ourselves and our relationship to the world. The paper considers the contribution of critical social theory in ‘lifting the veil’ on the material processes and relations that underpin apocalyptic thinking in this particular crisis formation. By challenging the fatalism and misanthropy that aligns with such thinking, the future itself becomes a space of ideological and political contestation.
The most succinct definition of the reversal constitutive of drive is the moment when, in our eng... more The most succinct definition of the reversal constitutive of drive is the moment when, in our engagement in our purposeful activity (activity towards some goal), the way towards this goal, the gestures we make to achieve it, start to function as the goal in itself, as its own aim, as something that brings its own satisfaction. iek, S. (2000) The Ticklish Subject, London: Verso, p 304 It has been said that being exploited by capital is preferable to not being exploited at all. Utilising psychoanalytic concepts, the paper offers a theoretical account of the current dynamics of the labour market with regard to a subject increasingly ‘surplus’ to the needs of capital but compelled to ‘improve’ their employability. Describing employability as a master signifier, the paper argues that employability operates at the level of drive in that satisfaction lies in the aim (there is no object to attain) rather than the outcome (an actual job). Irrespective of whether we have a job, we cannot get ...
In this book, Colin Cremin tackles the overbearing truth that capitalism encompasses the totality... more In this book, Colin Cremin tackles the overbearing truth that capitalism encompasses the totality of our societal relations, weaving deep into the fabric of all that it means to be human. He shows how it is a system that totalises and which has upended the modernity project by industrialised warfare, surveillance, commodification and control. With ever deepening crises and ecological catastrophes it threatens the total destruction of human civilisation. But in amongst this wreckage there are still functioning parts, machines to be salvaged through the collective force of the human imagination and the total mobilisation of the peoples of this earth. We must realise a different future to the apocalypticism forewarned by scientists, prescribed by economists, accommodated by politicians and made spectacle by the entertainment industry.
Totalled maps the deteriorating socio-economic, political and ecological conditions in which we live and, through our labours and consumption, seemingly have no choice other than to accelerate. The question for the book is how a utopian possibility discernable in the power of human creation can be realised when as a society we are in different ways materially, ideologically and libidinally bound to the capitalist machine of destruction. Totalled concludes with a politically and economically grounded set of propositions on how this might be achieved.
From broadsheet newspapers to television shows and Hollywood films, capitalism is increasingly re... more From broadsheet newspapers to television shows and Hollywood films, capitalism is increasingly recognised as a system detrimental to human existence. Colin Cremin investigates why, despite this de-robing, capitalism remains a powerful and seductive force.
Using materialist, psychoanalytic and linguistic approaches, Cremin shows how capitalism, anxiety and desire enter into a mutually supporting relationship. He identifies three ways in which we are tied in to capitalism – through a social imperative for enterprise and competition; through enjoyment and consumption; and through the depoliticisation of ethical debate by government and business.
Capitalism's New Clothes is ideal for students of sociology and for anyone worried about the ethics of capitalism or embarrassed by the enjoyments the system has afforded them.
AbstrAct | Herbert Marcuse's influence on students and intellectuals in the Sixties is comparable... more AbstrAct | Herbert Marcuse's influence on students and intellectuals in the Sixties is comparable to the influence that Slavoj Žižek enjoys today. Both have developed their critical theories through Marxist materialism, Hegelian idealism, and psychoan-alytical theory of the subject. Both have produced polemical texts on liberal tolerance and the need for revolutionary violence, and both have invoked the idea of utopia against the ideology of there is no alternative to the market. The article situates Marcuse in today's context of austerity rather than the context of rising affluence the " one-dimensional " " happy consciousness " was said to inhabit. Marcuse's critique of a system that legitimates its power through the scarcities that constant exploitation and expansion breeds is especially relevant now that the logic of austerity envelops politics, society, and subjectivity. Making comparisons to Žižek, the article provides an overview of Marcuse's ideas before considering their value in current circumstances. A case is made for why Marcuse is relevant today and why the call for the liberation of Eros remains pertinent.
Critical theorists often argue that prosumption leads to new forms of exploitation. For example, ... more Critical theorists often argue that prosumption leads to new forms of exploitation. For example, social media users generate and produce content for social media pages, but undertake this activity in their leisure time and through their 'free labour'. Yet, the vast majority are paid nothing by social media companies for their efforts. However, we are sceptical of this particular critical account primarily because we do not believe the framework of 'exploitation' is particularly useful when analysing the activity of prosumers. From an alternative Marxist perspective, we suggest, instead, that one important element of prosumption lies in its capacity and potential to develop a new fetish for different capitalist relations. Three main groups of theorists are drawn upon to make this argument: Deleuze and Guattari, Adorno and Horkheimer, and Marcuse and Z ˇ ižek. From Deleuze and Guattari, we develop the idea that capitalist desire unleashes affectual and creative energies of fetishism, which today can be channelled into pro-sumption. From Adorno and Horkheimer, we show that this desire is realised through the adaptation of a factory-style do-it-yourself culture to aesthetic production and prosumption within society more generally. From Marcuse, we argue that while capitalism instils in people a desire to consume, it also creates a desire to be liberated from capital which also, as Z ˇ ižek emphasises, becomes in the form of ethical consumption another object to obtain through capital. In conclusion, we suggest these authors provide a theoretical basis to move beyond problematic dualist accounts that divide and separate prosumers and knowledge capitalism from the circuit of industrial capital.
‘Desire’, said Deleuze and Guattari, ‘is shamed, stupefied… it is easily persuaded to deny “itsel... more ‘Desire’, said Deleuze and Guattari, ‘is shamed, stupefied… it is easily persuaded to deny “itself” in the name of more important interests of civilisation’. Today desire is being shamed for what it has apparently done to the economy and ecology. With all roads leading to austerity, all fingers point at a generic subspecies called ‘the consumer’. After all, their crass individualism, selfishness and greed has corroded public life, contributed to the depletion of planetary resources, the rise of sweatshops in India and skyrocketing food prices in Africa. And now, by ‘binging on easy credit’, consumers are also to blame for the economic crisis. Drawing on iCommunism, published in 2012 with Zer0 Books, the paper mounts a defence of the consumer. It argues against the logic of austerity whether justified for economic or ecological reasons and invokes Herbert Marcuse who saw Eros – the pleasure principle – as a liberating force.
Unlike Biblical prophesies or the Protestant belief in predestination, the more secularised apoca... more Unlike Biblical prophesies or the Protestant belief in predestination, the more secularised apocalyptic prophesies today offer no redemption, spur no industry: provoke no revolution. Rather, they encourage a fatalism and misanthropy. Apocalypse, David Noel Freedman notes, ‘was born of crisis’. Drawing on the materialist linguistic theories of the Bakhtin Circle, the paper aims to identify how apocalyptic thinking in this age of crises differs from that of the past, how it is being refracted through the prism of a dominant ideology and the potential consequences this has for how we think about ourselves and our relationship to the world. The paper considers the contribution of critical social theory in ‘lifting the veil’ on the material processes and relations that underpin apocalyptic thinking in this particular crisis formation. By challenging the fatalism and misanthropy that aligns with such thinking, the future itself becomes a space of ideological and political contestation.
The most succinct definition of the reversal constitutive of drive is the moment when, in our eng... more The most succinct definition of the reversal constitutive of drive is the moment when, in our engagement in our purposeful activity (activity towards some goal), the way towards this goal, the gestures we make to achieve it, start to function as the goal in itself, as its own aim, as something that brings its own satisfaction. iek, S. (2000) The Ticklish Subject, London: Verso, p 304 It has been said that being exploited by capital is preferable to not being exploited at all. Utilising psychoanalytic concepts, the paper offers a theoretical account of the current dynamics of the labour market with regard to a subject increasingly ‘surplus’ to the needs of capital but compelled to ‘improve’ their employability. Describing employability as a master signifier, the paper argues that employability operates at the level of drive in that satisfaction lies in the aim (there is no object to attain) rather than the outcome (an actual job). Irrespective of whether we have a job, we cannot get ...
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Books by Colin Cremin
Totalled maps the deteriorating socio-economic, political and ecological conditions in which we live and, through our labours and consumption, seemingly have no choice other than to accelerate. The question for the book is how a utopian possibility discernable in the power of human creation can be realised when as a society we are in different ways materially, ideologically and libidinally bound to the capitalist machine of destruction. Totalled concludes with a politically and economically grounded set of propositions on how this might be achieved.
Using materialist, psychoanalytic and linguistic approaches, Cremin shows how capitalism, anxiety and desire enter into a mutually supporting relationship. He identifies three ways in which we are tied in to capitalism – through a social imperative for enterprise and competition; through enjoyment and consumption; and through the depoliticisation of ethical debate by government and business.
Capitalism's New Clothes is ideal for students of sociology and for anyone worried about the ethics of capitalism or embarrassed by the enjoyments the system has afforded them.
Papers by Colin Cremin
Totalled maps the deteriorating socio-economic, political and ecological conditions in which we live and, through our labours and consumption, seemingly have no choice other than to accelerate. The question for the book is how a utopian possibility discernable in the power of human creation can be realised when as a society we are in different ways materially, ideologically and libidinally bound to the capitalist machine of destruction. Totalled concludes with a politically and economically grounded set of propositions on how this might be achieved.
Using materialist, psychoanalytic and linguistic approaches, Cremin shows how capitalism, anxiety and desire enter into a mutually supporting relationship. He identifies three ways in which we are tied in to capitalism – through a social imperative for enterprise and competition; through enjoyment and consumption; and through the depoliticisation of ethical debate by government and business.
Capitalism's New Clothes is ideal for students of sociology and for anyone worried about the ethics of capitalism or embarrassed by the enjoyments the system has afforded them.