Pure Excess : Capitalism and the Commodity - Todd McGowan

Pure Excess

Capitalism and the Commodity

By: Todd McGowan

Hardcover | 31 December 2024 | Edition Number 1

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Todd McGowan forges a new theory of capitalism as a system based on the production of more than what we need: pure excess. He argues that the promise of more-more wealth, more enjoyment, more opportunity, without requiring any sacrifice-is the essence of capitalism. Previous socioeconomic systems set up some form of the social good as their focus. Capitalism, however, represents a revolutionary turn away from the good and the useful toward excessive growth, which now threatens the habitability of the planet.

Drawing on psychoanalytic theory, McGowan shows how the production of commodities explains the role of excess in the workings of capitalism. Capitalism and the commodity ensnare us with the image of the constant fulfillment of our desires-the seductive but unattainable promise of satisfying a longing that has no end. To challenge this system, McGowan turns to art, arguing that it can expose the psychological mechanisms that perpetuate capitalist society and reveal the need for limits. Featuring lively writing and engaging examples from film, literature, and popular culture, Pure Excess uncovers the hidden logic of capitalism-and helps us envision a noncapitalist life in a noncapitalist society.
Industry Reviews
For years McGowan has worked to understand the core mechanism of the libidinal economy that sustains capitalism. With Pure Excess, we finally have the definitive formulation. He condenses deep paradoxes: capitalism produces pure excess even when most people cannot satisfy their basic needs. This book is obligatory reading for everyone who wants to understand the global crisis we are in. -- Slavoj Zizek
In his latest groundbreaking work, Todd McGowan provides a thrilling examination of the nature of excess in capitalism. Much more than a critical analysis of capitalism, this book also reveals the anti-capitalist potential of art and the aesthetic form. -- Alenka Zupancic, author of What IS Sex?

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