Clickbait Capitalism

Amin Samman is Senior Lecturer in International Political Economy at City, University of LondonEarl Gammon is Senior Lecturer in Global Political Economy at the University of Sussex

As the pursuit of profit becomes increasingly surreal, virtual, and exotic by the day, the symbiosis between libidinal and financial flows demands to be reframed and rethought. Indeed, the timing could not be better for this vital and important collection of essays, which do precisely that. Clickbait capitalism offers a stimulating and game-changing introduction to how the current confluence of economy and desire pre-empts our behaviour, structures our identity, influences our decisions, and tugs at our wallets.Dominic Pettman, Professor of Media and New Humanities, The New School, author of Peak LibidoLie back on the couch with this book and let it analyse your triggers and traumas about student debt and intergenerational inequity. Ramble down the royal road of the unconscious, interpreting the collective delirium from Cryptokitties to cryogenics, Squid Game to GameStop. These bracing chapters, invoking theorists from Adorno to Žižek, fuse psychology and economics to diagnose the neuroses of our moment. The results are electric!Susan Zieger, Professor of English Literature, University of California, Riverside, co-editor of The Aesthetic Life of InfrastructureA compelling and much-needed volume at the forefront of new research on libidinal political economy. It brilliantly illuminates the pivotal role of unconscious desire in multiple contemporary contexts, from social media and cryptocurrencies to job markets and racial capitalism.Ilan Kapoor, Professor of Critical Development Studies, York University, Canada, co-author of Global Libidinal Economy

• PrefaceIntroduction: The desire called libidinal economy – Amin Samman1 Narcissism, rage, avocado toast – Earl Gammon2 Capital as death denial – Sandy Brian Hager3 The eroticism of technology and finance – Noam Yuran4 Digital paranoia in a post-truth world – Jernej Markelj5 Social networks and serendipitous desire – Emily Rosamond6 Desiring-infrastructures in the crypto economy – Ludovico Rella7 Normative unconscious processes and US racial capitalism – Lynne Layton8 Enjoying inequality – Japhy Wilson9 Despair and hope among young Korean investors – Cheolung Choi10 Financialising the eschaton – Amin Samman and Stefano Sgambati11 Anxiety and self-sabotage in the neoliberal university – Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou and Max HaivenConclusion: Click here to end capitalism – Amin SammanIndex