Stanford University Press The Specter of Capital (Cultural Memory in the Present)

The Specter of Capital provides a searching historical analysis and critique of the role of classical and neoclassical economic theory in creating the economic conditions which produced the global financial crisis. Review A brief, lucid account of financialization's separation from production and its emergence as an autonomous realm--a development with serious consequences for theory as well as reality. Vogl demonstrates the baleful influences of the former on the latter and emphasizes the temporal paradox of a present which, preempting the future in the form of derivatives and the like, leaves us open to the unpredictable and the destructive.--Fredric Jameson "Duke University" In this book, Joseph Vogl decodes the specter and demystifies the uncharted terrain of contemporary capitalism. This brilliant book is required reading for anyone hoping to understand the makings and workings of today's finance economy.--Janine R. Wedel, School of Public Policy "George Mason University" To understand what capitalism means today, we must ask about economics and culture, for capital is central to each. It takes on spectral form: shadowy, fleeting, but omnipresent. This is finance capitalism. It has existed before but is of newly dramatic power now. Vogl's book is full of insights into what is going on and what it all means.--Craig Calhoun "Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science" About the Author Joseph Vogl is Professor of Modern German Literature, Cultural, and Media Studies at Humboldt-University Berlin and Permanent Visiting Professor at the Department of German at Princeton University.