The+New+Spirit+of+Capitalism


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 * =Summary By= || Tatiana ||
 * =Summary= || The new spirit of capitalism

The spirit of capitalism- “The ideology that justifies people’s commitment to capitalism, and which renders this commitment attractive” (162).

Authors agree with marx in that workers have been alienated from their labor but disagree that the spirit of capitalism is merely a superstructure. (163).

The text seems to also have some foucauldian elements in that the spirit of capitalism is “central the process of capitalistic accumulation but also provides justification for criticisms leveled against it [paraphrased] 163

The authors argue that the spirit of capitalism does not change inevitably, but trough active engagement, and individuals who experience conflict, uncertainty within the system.

The nature of criticism: Criticism leads to tesiing because it questions the existing order and casts doubt on the “relative strengths of each of the parties that compromise the order”(173). Testing, when coupled with legitimacy, invites criticism that hones in on “injustices that have been caused by the actions of hidden forces”174).

Categorization: An individual’s actions are publicly judged by others Displacement: “the actions and forces it infers change depending on the local circumstances and the degree of resistance they encounter”(172). 2 ways of criticizing tests a) for corrective purposes b) the radical method (which questions the very validity of the test.)

Is there agency? The authors acknowledge that there is plenty agency. Through criticism and engaging with not only the spirit of capitalism but the institution itself, people have brought about changes to the system, and continue to do so. The authors explicitly believe that change doesn’t just magically happen.

Is it possible to devolve back to an “old spirit of capitalism” or would that reinvention be considered something new because of the time-space in which it resides?

Is the spirit of capitalism today and different from the 1990s? What is it? And what kinds of criticisms are leveled against it today?

What logics would we see in operation in the working oworld today? Is it any different from those present in the1990s || = = = = = = = = = = = =
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