The Social Ontology of Capitalism (Political Philosophy and Public Purpose)

This Book Addresses Core Questions About The Nature And Structure Of Contemporary Capitalism And The Social Dynamics And Countervailing Forces That Shape Modern Life. From A Robust And Self-consciously Sociological Framework, It Analyzes And Interrogates Such Issues As The Nature Of The Social, The Power Of The Sacred, The Nature Of Authority, The Problem Of Representation, Reification, Alienation, Utopia, And Collective Resistance. Historical Materialism Reveals That The Scope Of Productive Functions Is Broader Than The Crude Realism Of Economism. Marx's Critical Theory Of The Commodity And His Analysis Of The Capitalist Regime Of Accumulation Remains As Vital As Ever And Serve As A Guiding Light For The Continued Exploration Of The Philosophical Underpinnings Of Critical Inquiry And Praxis. The Social Ontology Of Capitalism: An Introduction / Daniel Krier And Mark P. Worrell -- Part I. Abstract -- Social Ontology And Social Critique: Toward A New Paradigm For Critical Theory / Michael J. Thompson -- Critical Theory In The Twenty-first Century: The Logic Of Capital Between Classical Social Theory, The Early Frankfurt School Critique Of Political Economy And The Prospect Of Artifice / Harry F. Dahms -- The Sacred And The Profane In The General Formula For Capital: The Octagonal Structure Of The Commodity And Saving Marx's Sociological Realism From Professional Marxology / Mark P. Worrell -- Social Form And The 'purely Social': On The Kind Of Sociality Involved In Value / Patrick Murray And Jeanne Schuler -- Part Ii. Concrete -- Debt In The Global Economy / Tony Smith -- Representing Capital? Mimesis, Realism, And Contemporary Photography / Christian Lotz -- Demand The Impossible: Greece, The Eurozone Crisis, And The Failure Of The Utopian Imagination / David N. Smith -- The Constellation Of Social Ontology: Walter Benjamin, Eduard Fuchs, And The Body Of History / Kevin S. Amidon And Daniel Krier -- The Body Ontology Of Capitalism / Daniel Krier And Kevin S. Amidon -- The Morality Of Misery / Tony A. Feldmann. Daniel Krier, Mark P. Worrell, Editors. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Front Matter....Pages i-xvii The Social Ontology of Capitalism: An Introduction....Pages 1-11 Front Matter....Pages 13-13 Social Ontology and Social Critique: Toward a New Paradigm for Critical Theory....Pages 15-45 Critical Theory in the Twenty-First Century: The Logic of Capital Between Classical Social Theory, the Early Frankfurt School Critique of Political Economy and the Prospect of Artifice....Pages 47-74 The Sacred and the Profane in the General Formula for Capital: The Octagonal Structure of the Commodity and Saving Marx’s Sociological Realism from Professional Marxology....Pages 75-119 Social Form and the ‘Purely Social’: On the Kind of Sociality Involved in Value....Pages 121-141 Front Matter....Pages 143-143 Debt in the Global Economy....Pages 145-172 Representing Capital: Mimesis, Realism, and Contemporary Photography....Pages 173-193 Demand the Impossible: Greece, the Eurozone Crisis, and the Failure of the Utopian Imagination....Pages 195-234 The Constellation of Social Ontology: Walter Benjamin, Eduard Fuchs, and the Body of History....Pages 235-262 The Body Ontology of Capitalism....Pages 263-276 The Morality of Misery....Pages 277-290 Back Matter....Pages 291-300 This book addresses core questions about the nature and structure of contemporary capitalism and the social dynamics and countervailing forces that shape modern life. From a robust and self-consciously sociological framework, it analyzes and interrogates such issues as the nature of the social, the power of the sacred, the social nature of authority, the problem of representation, reification and alienation, utopia, and collective resistance. Marx's historical materialism and his recognition that "productive functions" were broader in substance than narrow economism remain as vital as ever. This book utilizes that as a compelling guide for continued exploration into the philosophical underpinnings that ground critical inquiry and praxis