Capitalism and social agency
Abstract
This dissertation develops an analysis of the relationship between capitalism and human agency. Drawing primarily on the political philosophy of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, I argue for a conception of social agency in terms of an activity of assembling and being assembled within a field of heterogeneous resources. In conjunction, I provide an analysis of capitalist social production that focuses on the genesis and reproduction of the specific resources and interests that are both the conditions of possibility for social action as well as the product of this action. The specific result of this analysis is a unique conception of capitalist social agency that is opposed and superior to the well-known liberal or Neoclassical concept of social agency (rational individual as agency), but also to the traditional Marxist conception (class as agency). In short, this dissertation contributes a concept of social agency that enriches our current explanatory framework for capitalist "phenomena" (e.g. crises, inequality, etc.).
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Smith, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Philosophy|Economic theory|Political science
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