Microeconomic Mode: Political Subjectivity in Contemporary Popular Aesthetics

The intersection of survival and choice is a common theme in literature, film, and television, explored in works such as "127 Hours" and "Game of Thrones." Jane Elliott identifies and analyzes this phenomenon, called "the microeconomic mode," in which protagonists are forced to make torturous either-or choices in stripped-down, brutally stark environments. She traces the implicit theoretical and political claims conveyed by this combination of abstraction and extremity, relating it to biopolitics, natural law theory, becoming, and primitive accumulation in racial capitalism. The microeconomic mode interrogates the destruction of the liberal political subject but leaves in its place something as disturbing and radically new.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 248 pages
Publication date: 19 January 2021
Publisher: Columbia University Press

Literature, film, and television have become captivated by the intersection of survival and choice, evident in works ranging from "The Road" to "Game of Thrones." This fascination extends to seemingly disparate genres like "Gone Girl" and "Saw." In real-life or fantastical settings, protagonists are often faced with extreme scenarios, forcing them to make agonizing "either-or" choices in stark, stripped-down environments. Jane Elliott explores this unique aesthetic phenomenon, coined as "the microeconomic mode," through meticulous analysis of its narratives, tropes, and concepts. She traces the implicit theoretical and political assertions conveyed by this blend of abstraction and extremity.

In the microeconomic mode, individuals isolated from social organizations operate within a miniature economy, measuring gains and losses in the currency of life. Elliott delves into the key concepts that arise from this aesthetic, such as life-interest, sovereign capture, and binary life, in relation to biopolitics, natural law theory, becoming, and control society, as well as primitive accumulation in racial capitalism. The microeconomic mode poses profound questions about the destruction of the liberal political subject, yet what it replaces is equally unsettling and radically innovative.

"The Microeconomic Mode" goes beyond the realm of literature, combining revelatory close readings of key literary and popular texts with significant theoretical interventions to identify how an aesthetics of choice has reshaped our contemporary understanding of what it means to be human. This book offers a thought-provoking exploration of the interplay between survival, choice, and the human condition, challenging readers to reevaluate their perceptions of reality and the choices they make in their lives.

Weight: 320g
Dimension: 221 x 143 x 16 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780231174756