Capitalism and the New Political Unconscious: A Philosophy of Immanence (Political Theory and Contemporary Philosophy)

Taking seriously Jacques Lacan’s claim that “the unconscious is politics”, this volume proposes a new understanding of political power, as it interrogates the assumption that contemporary capitalism functions by tapping into people’s forms of unconscious enjoyment, rather than providing transcendental conditions for the articulation of political meanings and desires. Whether we’re aware of it or not, political communication today targets the audience’s libidinal response through political and institutional language: in policies, speeches, tweets, social media appearances, gestures and images. Yet does this mean that current political powers no longer need symbolic or ideological frameworks? The authors in this volume think not. Far from demonstrating a shift to a post-ideological age, they argue instead that such methods inaugurate an altogether novel approach to political power. Written by leading scholars from around the world, including Roberto Esposito and Slavoj Žižek, each chapter reflects on contemporary power structures and inspires consideration of new political potentialities, which our focus on politics in transcendental rather than immanent terms has thus far obscured. In so doing, Capitalism and the New Political Unconscious provides an original and forceful exploration of the centrality of both psychoanalysis and the philosophy of immanence to an alternative and up-to-date understanding of the political. Cover Halftitle page Series page Title page Copyright page Contents List of Contributors Acknowledgement Introduction Riccardo Panattoni and Fabio Vighi Note Part One Institutions 1 On Institutions Roberto Esposito 1 2 3 2 For a Clinical Theory of the Institution Massimo Recalcati Master Hysteric University Analyst Circulating discourses The central vacuum Discursive fixations 3 Instituting Power Riccardo Panattoni Falling into the Political The disjunctive synthesis of power, or of the plane of immanence Hamlet, Bartleby or misconstruction Instituting power Notes Bibliography 4 Vox Populi, Vox Dei: On the Vocal Substance of the Present Federico Leoni The myth of the word The Lutheran reader Vox populi, vox dei True and false hallucinations Phenomenology of rumours On the use of the vocal substance of the contemporary Notes Bibliography Part Two Ideology 5 Neo-plebs and Elites in the Global World Matteo Vegetti Phenomenology of the plebs The plebs do not exist The governance of the neo-plebs Remnants and waste Notes Bibliography 6 On the Theatricality and Historicity of the Political1 Gregor Moder Žižek’s concept of performance Theatricality of fascism The ceremonial monarch and the world-historical individual From Althusser’s theoretical theatre back to the point of suture Notes Bibliography 7 A Critique of Biopolitics Maurizio Lazzarato Notes Bibliography 8 Profit, Knowledge and Jouissance: Lacan and the Logic of Action Matteo Bonazzi The political animal with the power of discourse and its subversion Losing in excess: Pascal Marx’s profit ‘The real Punchinello’ Notes Bibliography Part Three Capitalism 9 Jansenist Morality and the Compulsion of Capitalism Samo Tomšič Renunciation of life and surplus value The emergence of faith from compulsion to repeat The anti-sociality of capitalism vs the sociality of analysis Notes Bibliography 10 Capitalism and Law: From Servitude to Freedom Todd McGowan Stating the case State and ideology Breaking the law Notes Bibliography 11 Matrix Resurrections, or Jouissance as a Political Factor1 Slavoj Žižek Notes Bibliography 12 The Perfect Crime? Baudrillard, Covid-19 and Capitalist Virulence Fabio Vighi Introduction Viral simulations The conspiracy of the Good Hypnotic deterrence Neo-feudal capitalism Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index "Taking seriously Jacques Lacan's claim that "the unconscious is politics", this volume proposes a new understanding of political power, as it interrogates the assumption that contemporary capitalism functions by tapping into people's forms of unconscious enjoyment, rather than providing transcendental conditions for the articulation of political meanings and desires. Whether we're aware of it or not, political communication today targets the audience's libidinal response through political and institutional language: in policies, speeches, tweets, social media appearances, gestures and images. Yet does this mean that current political powers no longer need symbolic or ideological frameworks? The authors in this volume think not. Far from demonstrating a shift to a post-ideological age, they argue instead that such methods inaugurate an altogether novel approach to political power. Written by leading scholars from around the world, including Roberto Esposito, Alenka Zupancic, Ed Pluth and Maurizio Lazzarato, each chapter reflects on contemporary power structures and inspires consideration of new political potentialities, which our focus on politics in transcendental rather than immanent terms has thus far obscured. In so doing, Capitalism and the New Political Unconscious provides an original and forceful exploration of the centrality of both psychoanalysis and the philosophy of immanence to an alternative and up-to-date understanding of the political."-- Provided by publisher Taking seriously Jacques Lacan's claim that 'the unconscious is politics', this volume proposes a new understanding of political power, interrogating the assumption that contemporary capitalism functions by tapping into forms of unconscious enjoyment, rather than providing transcendental conditions for the articulation of political meanings and desires. Whether we're aware of it or not, political communication today targets the audience's libidinal response through political and institutional language: in policies, speeches, tweets, social media appearances, gestures and images. Yet does this mean that current power structures no longer need symbolic or ideological frameworks? The authors in this volume think not. Far from demonstrating a shift to a post-ideological age, they argue instead that such methods inaugurate an altogether novel approach to political power. Written by leading scholars from around the world, including Roberto Esposito and Slavoj Žižek, each chapter reflects on contemporary power and inspires consideration of new political potentialities, which our focus on politics in transcendental rather than immanent terms has thus far obscured. In so doing, Capitalism and the New Political Unconscious provides an original and forceful exploration of the centrality of both psychoanalytic theory and the philosophy of immanence to an alternative understanding of the political.