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Utopia or Bust: A Guide to the Present Crisis
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About this ebook
After the financial crash and the Great Recession, the media rediscovered Karl Marx, socialist theory, and the very idea that capitalism can be questioned.
But in spite of the publicity, the main paths of contemporary critical thought have gone unexplored outside of the academy. Benjamin Kunkel's Utopia or Bust leads readers-whether politically committed or simply curious-through the most important critical theory today. Written with the wit and verve of Kunkel's best-selling novel, Indecision, this introduction to contemporary Leftist thinkers engages with the revolutionary philosophy of Slavoj Zizek, the economic analyses of David Graeber and David Harvey, and the cultural diagnoses of Fredric Jameson. Discussing the ongoing crisis of capitalism in light of ideas of full employment, debt forgiveness, and "fictitious capital," Utopia or Bust is a tour through the world of Marxist thought and an examination of the basis of Western society today.
But in spite of the publicity, the main paths of contemporary critical thought have gone unexplored outside of the academy. Benjamin Kunkel's Utopia or Bust leads readers-whether politically committed or simply curious-through the most important critical theory today. Written with the wit and verve of Kunkel's best-selling novel, Indecision, this introduction to contemporary Leftist thinkers engages with the revolutionary philosophy of Slavoj Zizek, the economic analyses of David Graeber and David Harvey, and the cultural diagnoses of Fredric Jameson. Discussing the ongoing crisis of capitalism in light of ideas of full employment, debt forgiveness, and "fictitious capital," Utopia or Bust is a tour through the world of Marxist thought and an examination of the basis of Western society today.
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Author
Benjamin Kunkel
BENJAMIN KUNKEL is the author of the best-selling novel Indecision and a founding editor of n+1 magazine. He has written for The New Yorker, Dissent, The New York Review of Books, and the London Review of Books.
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Reviews for Utopia or Bust
Rating: 3.5000000625 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
24 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Six essays towards understanding the Great Recession, and what comes next, from a Marxist perspective. I thought the chapters on Brenner and Graeber stood out.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Best way into some current Marxist thinkers I've read. It kinda shows that the pieces originated as book reviews, but when Kunkel likes the author's work, he does an amazing job of explicating what makes them great. But when the authors aren't that great, Kunkel's reviews kinda meander. Still, readable Marxism is to kill for, and Kunkel rocks.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The essay on Jameson is the best. Two essays are expositions of obsolete Marxist economics. The short section on further readings is good. The long introduction is mostly about himself. No index.