Capital in the Mirror: Critical Social Theory and the Aesthetic Dimension (SUNY series in New Political Science)

__Analyzes contemporary capitalism through the products of culture and art for fresh insight into emancipatory possibilities concealed within capitalism’s darkest dynamics.__ Aesthetic objects, crafted as poetic reflections of the contradictory worlds that they inhabit, are simultaneously theorized and theorizing. In __Capital in the Mirror__, eminent critical theorists explore the aesthetic dimension for reflective visions of capital that are difficult to obtain through even the most rigorous statistical analyses. Chapters address inequality, alienation, ideology, warfare, and other problems of contemporary capitalism through the cultural prisms of Herman Melville, Thomas Mann, Charles Dickens, J. W. Goethe, Friedrich Hölderlin, Walt Whitman, Bertolt Brecht, and science-fiction cinema. Famous narrative elements in their works, such as Ahab’s pursuit of the white whale in Melville’s __Moby-Dick__, demonic production and perverse desire in Mann’s __Doctor Faustus__, socially electrified bodies of Whitman’s __Leaves of Grass__, and dystopian projections of current sci-fi cinema, are theorized as stylistically distorted reflections of social life within capital. The authors reveal theoretical powers latent within these condensed images that prefigure the dark dynamics of capitalism. Focusing on dark images of domination and also prophetic images of transformation, the book points the way toward emancipation, social regeneration, and human flourishing. Contents 6 Acknowledgments 8 The Mirror of Capital: An Introduction to Critical Poiesis 10 Theoria beyond Praxis: Critical Poiesis 13 Outline of the Book 15 Note 24 References 24 Part I. Twilight 26 1. An Insane Book, an Insane Country, an Insane System: Moby-Dick, U.S. Hegemony, and the Catastrophe of Capital 28 Introduction 28 Moby-Dick: A Prophetic Anticipation of U.S. Hegemony 30 M (Investment Capital) 31 Commodity Capital1: Inputs (C) 32 Capital in Production Process (P) 35 The Allocation of Risks 37 The Politics of Time 38 Commodity Capital2: Output (C') 41 Valorized Money Capital (M') 42 The Antinomies of the Period, The Antinomies of Capital 43 Ahab and the “Principal/Agent” Problem 43 The Crew and the Limits of Democracy in “Democratic” Capitalism 48 The Revenge of Moby-Dick, the Revenge of Nature 54 Conclusion 60 Notes 61 References 70 2. Marxist Aesthetics, Realism, and Photography: On Brecht’s War Primer 72 Introduction: Iconophobia in Critical Theory? 72 The Visible and the Invisible in Marxist Methodology and Aesthetics 76 Brecht’s Critical Aesthetics 78 The Arbeiter-Illustrierte Zeitung 81 Photography and Mimesis as Memory 83 The Visible and the Invisible in the Kriegsfibel 85 The (In)Visible I: Memory 86 The (In)Visible II: Montage 89 The (In)Visible III: War 91 Conclusion 93 Notes 94 References 95 3. The Poetics of Nihilism: Representing Capital’s Indifference in Dickens’ Hard Times 98 Introduction: Literature and Social Theory 98 Constitutive Forms and Shadow Forms 100 Art and Philosophy: A Hegelian Counterpoint to Dickens 102 Hard Times and the Gradgrind Philosophy 104 The Gradgrind Philosophy and Utilitarianism 106 The Harthouse Philosophy as the Truth of the Gradgrind Philosophy 113 Dickens, Hard Times, and Capitalism 115 Conclusion: Taking on Capital’s Shadow Forms 118 Notes 121 References 128 4. The Repressed Returns: Mann’s Doctor Faustus and the Fugue of Capital 132 Mann’s Life and Doctor Faustus 132 Variations on Mann’s Recurring Themes 135 Fugue Structure in Doctor Faustus 139 The Calling in Doctor Faustus 143 The Calling: Playing with an Immanent Structural Order 145 Music as an Immanent Structure 146 The Calling and Productive Sickness: Dying into Work 147 The Polyphony of Callings and the Technical Frontier 148 The Return of the Repressed: The Totalization and Return to Folk Aesthetics 149 Notes 150 References 151 Part II. Dawn 154 5. “Shakespearian Politics” and World History 156 Three Themes in a “Shakespearian Politics” 157 Theme 1: Political Authority Is Not Determined by A “Natural” Hierarchical Order, But by Power Struggles between Competing Elite 157 Theme 2: Once Acquired, Political Authority Tends to Be Maintained through Normatively Questionable Means 165 Theme 3: Oppression is the “Normal” Condition of Political Life 171 The General Content and Practical Orientation of “Shakespearian Politics” 174 “Shakespearian Politics” Today 180 A “Shakespearian Politics” beyond Shakespeare? 187 Notes 192 References 193 6. The Radical Implications of Hölderlin’s Aesthetic Rationalism 194 I 194 II 196 III 204 IV 208 V 214 Notes 218 References 220 7. From Mirror to Catalyst: Whitman and the Literature of Re-Creation 222 References 231 8. The City of Brothers 232 Notes 238 References 239 9. Critical Theory, Sociology, and Science-Fiction Films: Love, Radical Transformation, and the Socio-Logic of Capital 240 Introduction 240 Theorizing Modern Society: Critical Theory, Sociology, and Science Fiction 243 Sociology and Science Fiction as Responses to Modernity 250 Critical Theory and the Logic of Capital 254 Critical Theory, the Problem of Futurity, and Science Fiction as the Genre of the 21st Century 262 Love and Radical Transformation in Science-Fiction Films 274 Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) 276 Dark City (1999) 280 The Matrix (1999) 283 Conclusion: Critical Theory of Science Fiction Qua Critique of Social Relations? 286 Notes 290 References 298 Films 308 10. Magical Marx: Objective Method and Aesthetics 310 Negations: Sacred and Profane 311 The Sacred Pure and the Sacred Impure 315 Magic and Religion 322 Sacred Sociology 324 Notes 324 References 329 List of Contributors 332 Index 336 "Aesthetic objects, crafted as poetic reflections of the contradictory worlds that they inhabit, are simultaneously theorized and theorizing. In Capital in the Mirror: Critical Social Theory and the Aesthetic Dimension, eminent critical theorists explore the aesthetic dimension for reflective visions of capital that are difficult to obtain through even the most rigorous statistical analyses. Chapters work together to analyze capitalism through the prism of acclaimed aesthetic products by Herman Melville, Thomas Mann, Charles Dickens, J.W. Goethe, Friedrich Hölderlin, Walt Whitman, Berthold Brecht, and science fiction cinema. Famous narrative elements in these works, such as Ahab's pursuit of the white whale in Melville's Moby Dick; demonic production and perverse desire in Mann's Doctor Faustus, socially electrified bodies of Whitman's Leaves, dystopian projections of current sci-fi cinema, are theorized as stylistically-distorted reflections of social life within capital. The authors reveal theoretical powers latent within these condensed images that prefigure the dark dynamics of capitalism. The book is divided into two sections: one devoted to dark images of domination (Twilight) and a second devoted to prophetic images of transformation (Dawn), pointing the way toward emancipation, social regeneration, and human flourishing"-- Provided by publisher "Aesthetic objects, crafted as poetic reflections of the contradictory worlds that they inhabit, are simultaneously theorized and theorizing. In Capital in the Mirror: Critical Social Theory and the Aesthetic Dimension, eminent critical theorists explore the aesthetic dimension for reflective visions of capital that are difficult to obtain through even the most rigorous statistical analyses. Chapters work together to analyze capitalism through the prism of acclaimed aesthetic products by Herman Melville, Thomas Mann, Charles Dickens, J.W. Goethe, Friedrich Hïlerlin, Walt Whitman, Berthold Brecht, and science fiction cinema. Famous narrative elements in these works, such as Ahab's pursuit of the white whale in Melville's Moby Dick; demonic production and perverse desire in Mann's Doctor Faustus, socially electrified bodies of Whitman's Leaves, dystopian projections of current sci-fi cinema, are theorized as stylistically-distorted reflections of social life within capital. The authors reveal theoretical powers latent within these condensed images that prefigure the dark dynamics of capitalism. The book is divided into two sections: one devoted to dark images of domination (Twilight) and a second devoted to prophetic images of transformation (Dawn), pointing the way toward emancipation, social regeneration, and human flourishing"-- Provided by publisher