Martijn Konings

Jeffrey Sommers

Most accounts of the current financial crisis tell a story of deregulation, out-of-control markets and irresponsible speculation. But few of those works have done more than regurgitate the newspaper coverage. In contrast, The Great Credit Crash digs deeper, drawing on some of the most prominent radical analysts of the modern market to foreground the key questions that are still waiting to be answered. This volume presents a more complete and convincing analysis of the recent economic disaster, which is revealed as a product of a social order built during the triumphalist years of neoliberal capitalism. The contributors assess current events and political responses, critically examining official rhetoric and hegemonic narratives to point the way to an understanding of the crisis beyond the subprime headlines.

The Great Credit Crash

The capitalist market, progressives bemoan, is a cold monster: it disrupts social bonds, erodes emotional attachments, and imposes an abstract utilitarian rationality. But what if such hallowed critiques are completely misleading? This book argues that the production of new sources of faith and enchantment is crucial to the dynamics of the capitalist economy. Distinctively secular patterns of attraction and attachment give modern institutions a binding force that was not available to more traditional forms of rule. Elaborating his alternative approach through an engagement with the semiotics of money and the genealogy of economy, Martijn Konings uncovers capitalism's emotional and theological content in order to understand the paradoxical sources of cohesion and legitimacy that it commands. In developing this perspective, he draws on pragmatist thought to rework and revitalize the Marxist critique of capitalism.

What Progressives Have Missed

The Emotional Logic of Capitalism

Emotional Logic of Capitalism

Damien Cahill

For over three decades neoliberalism has been the dominant economic ideology. While it may have emerged relatively unscathed from the global financial crisis of 2007-8, neoliberalism is now - more than ever - under scrutiny from critics who argue that it has failed to live up to its promises, creating instead an increasingly unequal and insecure world. This book offers a nuanced and probing analysis of the meaning and practical application of neoliberalism today, separating myth from reality. Drawing on examples such as the growth of finance, the role of corporate power and the rise of workfare, the book advances a balanced but distinctive perspective on neoliberalism as involving the interaction of ideas, material economic change and political transformations. It interrogates claims about the impending death of neoliberalism and considers the sources of its resilience in the current climate of political disenchantment and economic austerity. Clearly and accessibly written, this book will be a valuable resource for students and scholars across the social sciences.

Neoliberalism

Melinda Cooper

Lisa Adkins

Rising inequality is the defining feature of our age. With the lion’s share of wealth growth going to the top, for a growing percentage of society a middle-class existence is out of reach. What exactly are the economic shifts that have driven the social transformations taking place in Anglo-capitalist societies? In this timely book, Lisa Adkins, Melinda Cooper and Martijn Konings argue that the rise of the asset economy has produced a new logic of inequality. Several decades of property inflation have seen asset ownership overshadow employment as a determinant of class position. Exploring the impact of generational dynamics in this new class landscape, the book advances an original perspective on a range of phenomena that are widely debated but poorly understood – including the growth of wealth inequalities and precarity, the dynamics of urban property inflation, changes in fiscal and monetary policy and the predicament of the “millennial” generation. Despite widespread awareness of the harmful effects of Quantitative Easing and similar asset-supporting measures, we appear to have entered an era of policy “lock-in” that is responsible for a growing disconnect between popular expectations and institutional priorities. The resulting polarization underlies many of the volatile dynamics and rapidly shifting alliances that dominate today’s headlines.

The Asset Economy

David Primrose

Across seven sections - including Neoliberal Economies, The State and Regulation, and Neoliberalism in Crisis - this resource brings together a global team of experts to explore the cutting edge of contemporary scholarship in the field

The SAGE Handbook of Neoliberalism

This book moves beyond mere denouncements of financial speculation to rethink the role of uncertainty, contingency, and time in contemporary capitalism.

For a New Critique of Neoliberal Reason

Capital and Time

Over the last two decades, ‘neoliberalism’ has emerged as a key concept within a range of social science disciplines including sociology, political science, human geography, anthropology, political economy, and cultural studies. The SAGE Handbook of Neoliberalism showcases the cutting edge of contemporary scholarship in this field by bringing together a team of global experts. Across seven key sections, the handbook explores the different ways in which neoliberalism has been understood and the key questions about the nature of neoliberalism: Part 1: Perspectives Part 2: Sources Part 3: Variations and Diffusions Part 4: The State Part 5: Social and Economic Restructuring Part 6: Cultural Dimensions Part 7: Neoliberalism and Beyond This handbook is the key reference text for scholars and graduate students engaged in the growing field of neoliberalism.

Martijn Konings

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