Clickbait capitalism: Economies of desire in the twenty-first century

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Rosamond, Emily; Samman, Amin; Hager, Sandy and Gammon, Earl. 2023. 'Clickbait capitalism: Economies of desire in the twenty-first century'. In: 14th Annual Critical Finance Studies Conference. Institute for Mediterranean Studies, Greece 21-23 June 2023. [Conference or Workshop Item]

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Abstract or Description

Panel for 14th Annual Critical Finance Studies Conference

Organiser

• Amin Samman, City, University of London

Chair

• Elke Schwarz, Queen Mary University of London

Panellists

• Amin Samman, City, University of London
• Earl Gammon, University of Sussex
• Sandy Hager, City, University of London
• Emily Rosamond, Goldsmiths, University of London

Panel abstract

The notion of ‘clickbait’ speaks to the intersection of money, technology, and desire, suggesting a cunning ruse to profit from unsavoury inclinations of one kind or another. This panel pursues the idea that the entire contemporary economy is just such a ruse; an elaborate exercise in psychological capture and release. Pushing beyond rationalist accounts of economic life, the papers presented here put psychoanalysis and political economy into conversation with the cutting edges of capitalist development. Perennial questions of death, sex, aggression, enjoyment, despair, hope, and revenge are followed onto the terrain of the contemporary, with discussion devoted to social media, cryptocurrencies, and NFTs. The result will be a unique and compelling portrait of the latest institutions to stage, channel, or reconfigure the psychic energies of political and economic life.

Item Type:

Conference or Workshop Item (Panel)

Keywords:

Capitalism; digital technology; financialisation; libidinal economy neoliberalism; political economy; psychoanalysis; psychology; social media; subjectivity

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