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The Culture of the New Capitalism
Richard Sennett
€ 21.99
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Description for The Culture of the New Capitalism
Paperback. Looks at the ways the global form of capitalism affects our lives. This book analyzes how changes in work ethic, in our attitudes toward merit and talent, and in public and private institutions contributes to 'the spectre of uselessness'. It concludes with suggestions to counter this disturbing culture. Editor(s): Sennett, Richard. Series: Castle Lectures Series. Num Pages: 224 pages. BIC Classification: GTB; KJC; KJMD. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational; (UP) Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly; (UU) Undergraduate. Dimension: 209 x 140 x 15. Weight in Grams: 228.
A provocative and disturbing look at the ways new economic facts are shaping our personal and social values.
The distinguished sociologist Richard Sennett surveys major differences between earlier forms of industrial capitalism and the more global, more febrile, ever more mutable version of capitalism that is taking its place. He shows how these changes affect everyday life—how the work ethic is changing; how new beliefs about merit and talent displace old values of craftsmanship and achievement; how what Sennett calls the “specter of uselessness” haunts professionals as well as manual workers; how the boundary between consumption and politics is dissolving.
Reformers of both private and public institutions have preached that flexible, global corporations provide a model of freedom for individuals, unlike the experience of fixed and static bureaucracies that Max Weber once called an “iron cage.” Sennett argues that, in banishing old ills, the new-economy model has created new social and emotional traumas. Only a certain kind of human being can prosper in unstable, fragmentary institutions: the culture of the new capitalism demands an ideal self oriented to the short term, focused on potential ability rather than accomplishment, willing to discount or abandon past experience. Sennett examines a more durable form of selfhood, and what practical initiatives could counter the pernicious effects of “reform.”
The distinguished sociologist Richard Sennett surveys major differences between earlier forms of industrial capitalism and the more global, more febrile, ever more mutable version of capitalism that is taking its place. He shows how these changes affect everyday life—how the work ethic is changing; how new beliefs about merit and talent displace old values of craftsmanship and achievement; how what Sennett calls the “specter of uselessness” haunts professionals as well as manual workers; how the boundary between consumption and politics is dissolving.
Reformers of both private and public institutions have preached that flexible, global corporations provide a model of freedom for individuals, unlike the experience of fixed and static bureaucracies that Max Weber once called an “iron cage.” Sennett argues that, in banishing old ills, the new-economy model has created new social and emotional traumas. Only a certain kind of human being can prosper in unstable, fragmentary institutions: the culture of the new capitalism demands an ideal self oriented to the short term, focused on potential ability rather than accomplishment, willing to discount or abandon past experience. Sennett examines a more durable form of selfhood, and what practical initiatives could counter the pernicious effects of “reform.”
Product Details
Publisher
Yale University Press United States
Number of pages
224
Format
Paperback
Publication date
2007
Series
Castle Lectures Series
Condition
New
Number of Pages
224
Place of Publication
, United States
ISBN
9780300119923
SKU
V9780300119923
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 4 to 8 working days
Ref
99-2
About Richard Sennett
Richard Sennett teaches sociology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the London School of Economics. His publications include The Corrosion of Character and Respect in a World of Inequality.
Reviews for The Culture of the New Capitalism
"packed with thought... profound and challenging... Sennett is here opening up a fascinating debate about how modern institutions, with their constant restructurings and delayerings, are generating ever-sharper inequality." Madeleine Bunting, New Statesman "Sennett has been observing for some years how modern work patterns make self-respect ever harder to achieve. Now, he has brilliantly pushed his thinking to a remorseless conclusion... a triumph" Will Hutton, The Observer "Hardly any social thinkers have given serious thought to the drastic changes in corporate culture wrought by downsizing, 're-orging', and outsourcing. Fortunately, the exception - Richard Sennett - is also one of the most insightful public intellectuals we have. In The Culture of New Capitalism Sennett addresses the new corporate culture with his usual vast erudition, endlessly supple intellect, and firm moral outlook. The result is brilliant, disturbing, and absolutely necessary reading." Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream "Reflective, studded with sharp insights, moving with grace between big ideas and specific cases. This is vintage Sennett." Douglas W. Rae, author of City: Urbanism and Its End"