Futilitarianism : neoliberalism and the production of uselessness / Neil Vallelly.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Vallelly, Neil, author.

Contributor:

Beth & Matthew Mezvinsky Collection Fund for Modern Philosophy.

Series:

Goldsmiths Press / PERC Papers.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Neoliberalism--Social aspects.

Neoliberalism.

Utilitarianism.

Common good.

Social history--21st century.

Social history.

Economic history--21st century.

Economic history.

Social aspects.

Physical Description:

xi, 234 pages ; 21 cm

Distribution:

Cambridge, Massachusetts : MIT Press.

Other Title:

Neoliberalism and the production of uselessness

Place of Publication:

London : Goldsmiths Press, 2021.

Summary:

"If maximizing utility leads to the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people, as utilitarianism has always proposed, then why is it that as many of us currently maximize our utility--by working endlessly, undertaking further education and training, relentlessly marketing and selling ourselves--we are met with the steady worsening of collective social and economic conditions? In Futilitarianism, social and political theorist Neil Vallelly eloquently tells the story of how neoliberalism transformed the relationship between utility maximisation and the common good. Drawing on a vast array of contemporary examples, from self-help literature and marketing jargon to political speeches and governmental responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, Vallelly coins several terms--including "the futilitarian condition," "homo futilitus," and "semio-futility"--to demonstrate that in the neoliberal decades, the practice of utility maximisation traps us in useless and repetitive behaviors that foreclose the possibility of collective happiness. This urgent and provocative book chimes with the mood of the time by at once mapping the historical relationship between utilitarianism and capitalism, developing an original framework for understanding neoliberalism, and recounting the lived experience of uselessness in the early twenty-first century. At a time of epoch-defining disasters, from climate emergencies to deadly pandemics, countering the futility of neoliberal existence is essential to building an egalitarian, sustainable, and hopeful future" -- Publisher description.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. The Futilitarian Condition

2. The Rise of Homo futilitus

3. Useless Responsibility

4. Semio-Futility and Symbolic Indigestion

5. The Politics of Futility

6. Futilitarianism in the Age of Covid-19.

Notes:

"PERC series"--Jacket.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 186-225) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Beth & Matthew Mezvinsky Collection Fund for Modern Philosophy.

ISBN:

9781912685905

1912685906

OCLC:

1272889413

Publisher Number:

99989177621