Infinite Greed: The Inhuman Selfishness of Capital

Adrian Johnston's Infinite Greed challenges the consensus that selfishness is essential to capitalism, arguing that it is driven by an inhuman capital that demands sacrifice and disregard for consequences. By combining Marxism and psychoanalysis, Johnston reveals how capitalism disregards and overrides rational self-interest, perpetuating crises and ills.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 392 pages
Publication date: 14 May 2024
Publisher: Columbia University Press

Selfishness is a key component of capitalism, with both its advocates and detractors claiming that it is essential. Adrian Johnston, in his book Infinite Greed, challenges this consensus by proposing a novel synthesis of Marxism and psychoanalysis. Through this synthesis, Johnston reveals that the relentless pursuit of profits is not driven by human acquisitiveness but rather by capitalism's strange "infinite greed." This greed demands that individuals sacrifice their pleasures, well-being, and even their own lives to serve inhuman capital. Johnston traces the mechanisms that compel capitalist subjects to obey the cold imperative to accumulate in perpetuity and without limits, regardless of the consequences for everyone and everything else. In the face of crises such as spiraling wealth inequality and the profit-driven prospect of a looming ecological apocalypse, the rational self-interest of the majority would seem to dictate putting a stop to capitalist accumulation. However, Johnston shows why and how capitalism, rather than being responsive to people's rationally selfish interests, disregards and overrides them instead. Infinite Greed pairs Freudian and Lacanian concepts with the economic heart of Marx's historical materialism, bringing to light the complex intertwining of political and libidinal economies that keep us invested and complicit in perpetuating capitalism and its ills.

Weight: 594g
Dimension: 156 x 234 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780231214735