Capital in the Mirror: Critical Social Theory and the Aesthetic Dimension

Contents
Acknowledgments
The Mirror of Capital: An Introduction to Critical Poiesis
	Theoria beyond Praxis: Critical Poiesis
	Outline of the Book
	Note
	References
Part I. Twilight
	1. An Insane Book, an Insane Country, an Insane System: Moby-Dick, U.S. Hegemony, and the Catastrophe of Capital
		Introduction
		Moby-Dick: A Prophetic Anticipation of U.S. Hegemony
			M (Investment Capital)
			Commodity Capital1: Inputs (C)
			Capital in Production Process (P)
			The Allocation of Risks
			The Politics of Time
			Commodity Capital2: Output (C\')
			Valorized Money Capital (M\')
		The Antinomies of the Period, The Antinomies of Capital
			Ahab and the “Principal/Agent” Problem
			The Crew and the Limits of Democracy in “Democratic” Capitalism
			The Revenge of Moby-Dick, the Revenge of Nature
		Conclusion
		Notes
		References
	2. Marxist Aesthetics, Realism, and Photography: On Brecht’s War Primer
		Introduction: Iconophobia in Critical Theory?
		The Visible and the Invisible in Marxist Methodology and Aesthetics
			Brecht’s Critical Aesthetics
			The Arbeiter-Illustrierte Zeitung
		Photography and Mimesis as Memory
		The Visible and the Invisible in the Kriegsfibel
			The (In)Visible I: Memory
			The (In)Visible II: Montage
			The (In)Visible III: War
		Conclusion
		Notes
		References
	3. The Poetics of Nihilism: Representing Capital’s Indifference in Dickens’ Hard Times
		Introduction: Literature and Social Theory
		Constitutive Forms and Shadow Forms
		Art and Philosophy: A Hegelian Counterpoint to Dickens
		Hard Times and the Gradgrind Philosophy
		The Gradgrind Philosophy and Utilitarianism
		The Harthouse Philosophy as the Truth of the Gradgrind Philosophy
		Dickens, Hard Times, and Capitalism
		Conclusion: Taking on Capital’s Shadow Forms
		Notes
		References
	4. The Repressed Returns: Mann’s Doctor Faustus and the Fugue of Capital
		Mann’s Life and Doctor Faustus
			Variations on Mann’s Recurring Themes
			Fugue Structure in Doctor Faustus
			The Calling in Doctor Faustus
			The Calling: Playing with an Immanent Structural Order
			Music as an Immanent Structure
			The Calling and Productive Sickness: Dying into Work
			The Polyphony of Callings and the Technical Frontier
			The Return of the Repressed: The Totalization and Return to Folk Aesthetics
		Notes
		References
Part II. Dawn
	5. “Shakespearian Politics” and World History
		Three Themes in a “Shakespearian Politics”
			Theme 1: Political Authority Is Not Determined by A “Natural” Hierarchical Order, But by Power Struggles between Competing Elite
			Theme 2: Once Acquired, Political Authority Tends to Be Maintained through Normatively Questionable Means
			Theme 3: Oppression is the “Normal” Condition of Political Life
		The General Content and Practical Orientation of “Shakespearian Politics”
		“Shakespearian Politics” Today
		A “Shakespearian Politics” beyond Shakespeare?
		Notes
		References
	6. The Radical Implications of Hölderlin’s Aesthetic Rationalism
		I
		II
		III
		IV
		V
		Notes
		References
	7. From Mirror to Catalyst: Whitman and the Literature of Re-Creation
		References
	8. The City of Brothers
		Notes
		References
	9. Critical Theory, Sociology, and Science-Fiction Films: Love, Radical Transformation, and the Socio-Logic of Capital
		Introduction
		Theorizing Modern Society: Critical Theory, Sociology, and Science Fiction
		Sociology and Science Fiction as Responses to Modernity
		Critical Theory and the Logic of Capital
		Critical Theory, the Problem of Futurity, and Science Fiction as the Genre of the 21st Century
		Love and Radical Transformation in Science-Fiction Films
			Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
			Dark City (1999)
			The Matrix (1999)
		Conclusion: Critical Theory of Science Fiction Qua Critique of Social Relations?
		Notes
		References
		Films
	10. Magical Marx: Objective Method and Aesthetics
		Negations: Sacred and Profane
		The Sacred Pure and the Sacred Impure
		Magic and Religion
		Sacred Sociology
		Notes
		References
List of Contributors
Index