Modern economics does not explain, and does not even attempt to explain, capitalism; rather, both introductory texts and advanced scholarship presuppose capitalism as a universal, natural entity. In stark contrast, Capitalist Economics introduces and explains the basic economic forces that shape the present and structure the future of capitalist societies today. Rejecting the naive idea that economics is a universal science of "choice" or the "efficient allocation of scarce resources," this book analyzes economic forces and relations as essential elements of a broader society. This entails understanding "the economic" as a force or a logic that always operates alongside cultural, political, and social forces, and it requires grasping that force as itself a product of historical development. This book explores the unique economic forces found in capitalist societies, offering detailed yet concise analysis of basic concepts - commodities, money, exchange, interest - and investigating broader issues such as the source of profit, the nature of growth, and the role of technology and invention"--
The standard, linear view of history is founded on the belief that political outcomes are predetermined by what has gone before. This book challenges this view, arguing for what Samuel A. Chambers calls an untimely politics which renders the past problematic and the future unpredictable. This pathbreaking argument is advanced through a close reading of key texts in political theory and by entering into debates involving metaphysics, philosophy of language, and psychoanalysis versus discursive analysis. Chambers focuses on the theme of the relevance of language analysis to political debate, answering those critics who insist discourse approaches to politics are irrelevant. Heidegger, Nietzsche, Foucault and Derrida are used to challenge the political burden which is placed on language analysis to prove its value in the real world. Drawing from political theory and cultural studies Chambers takes on the same-sex marriage debate, showing how the use and misuse of language has contributed to an impasse that is not likely to be broken. Wide ranging and insightful, Untimely Politics makes a timely plea for a more politically relevant and culturally engaged form of intellectual engagement.
This is a radical book, which brings together the fields of political theory and television studies. In one of the first books to do so, Samuel A. Chambers exposes and explores the cultural politics of television by treating television shows--including "Six Feet Under," "Buffy," "Desperate Housewives," "The L Word, " and "Big Love--"as serious, important texts and reading them in detail through the lens of queer theory. Samuel A. Chambers makes the case for the profound significance of "the cultural politics of television," the way in which a television show's text itself engages with the politics of its day. He argues for queer theory's essential contribution to any understanding of the political, and initiates a larger project of queer television studies. This is an important and fresh contribution to queer theory and to the understanding of television as politics.
Challenging the linear view of history which confines or predetermines the outcome of politics, this book argues for an 'untimely' politics, rendering the past problematic and the future unpredictable. Untimely Politicsoffers close readings of key texts in political theory and enters into debates involving metaphysics, philosophy of language, and psychoanalysis versus discursive analysis - all designed to demonstrate that untimeliness expands the scope of the political.The ideas are weaved together around the theme of the relevance of language analysis to political debate, answering those critics who insist discourse approaches to politics are irrelevant. Calling on key texts of Heidegger, Nietzsche, Foucault and Derrida the book challenges the political burden which is placed on language analysis to prove its value in the real world. To demonstrate his arguments, Samuel Chambers uses the case study of same-sex marriage in the US to interrogate family values politics.In seeking to explore the bearing of contemporary theory on practical political life, this book makes a timely plea for a more politically relevant form of intellectual work.Key Features:* detailed case study of same-sex marriages in the US is used to interrogate family value politics* shows the relevance of contemporary theory to practical political life* makes a plea for a more politically relevant form of intellectual work* aimed at both a Politics and a Cultural Studies readershipBooks in the series are...Valentine and Arditi Polemicization Shapiro Cinematic Political ThoughtChambers Untimely PoliticsElden Speaking Against NumberBowman Post-Marxism Versus Cultural StudiesMarchart Post-Foundational Political ThoughtLittle Democratic Piety
Modern economics does not explain, and does not even attempt to explain, capitalism; rather, both introductory texts and advanced scholarship presuppose capitalism as a universal, natural entity. In stark contrast, Capitalist Economics introduces and explains the basic economic forces that shape the present and structure the future of capitalist societies today. Rejecting the naive idea that economics is a universal science of "choice" or the "efficient allocation of scarce resources," this book analyzes economic forces and relations as essential elements of a broader society. This entails understanding "the economic" as a force or a logic that always operates alongside cultural, political, and social forces, and it requires grasping that force as itself a product of historical development. This book explores the unique economic forces found in capitalist societies, offering detailed yet concise analysis of basic concepts - commodities, money, exchange, interest - and investigating broader issues such as the source of profit, the nature of growth, and the role of technology and invention"--
Michael Shapiro has been one of the most important thinkers and writers over the past two decades whose work has been extremely influential in fields as varied as political theory, international relations and cultural studies. This collection contains his seminal writings on such topics as discourse, culture and violence.
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