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Capitalism's New Clothes

Capitalism's New Clothes

Ciara Colin Cremin

(2011)

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Abstract

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.
'Slicing through the evasions and double think of contemporary accounts of pleasure, Colin Cremin has produced a must-read text on the sociology of enjoyment. Accessible, penetrating, unmissable'
Chris Rojek, Professor of Sociology & Culture, Brunel University, West London
'With a ruthless elegance, Colin Cremin exposes the vacuousness of 'creative' capitalism's pretensions to newness'
Mark Fisher, Visiting Fellow at Goldsmiths, University Of London, and author of Capitalist Realism (2010)
'Engaging, accessible, timely and relevant'
Dr Calum Neill, Lecturer in Critical Psychology, Edinburgh Napier University

Table of Contents

Section Title Page Action Price
Cover Cover
Contents v
Acknowledgements vii
1. Introduction 1
2. Naked economy 7
The Stupid ID 7
The Postmodern Spirit 14
Immaterial Capitalism 18
End-Capitalism 25
Conclusion 29
3. Naked enterprise 32
Enterprise 33
Ethics 46
Enjoyment 53
Conclusion 70
4. Naked ethics 72
Ethics 75
Enterprise 85
Enjoyment 96
Conclusion 106
5. Naked enjoyment 109
Enjoyment 111
Enterprise 118
Ethics 130
Conclusion 137
6. Naked ecology 139
You Can’t Stop the Dancing Chicken 142
Carbon Zero 146
(M)Other Earth 150
The Elephant in the Room 153
Earth Second! 159
Conclusion 161
7. Conclusion 163
Notes 166
Bibliography 171
index 187