Mute Compulsion

Despite insoluble contradictions, intense volatility and fierce resistance, the crisis-ridden capitalism of the 21st century lingers on. To understand capital’s paradoxical expansion and entrenchment amidst crisis and unrest, Mute Compulsionoffers a novel theory of the historically unique forms of abstract and impersonal power set in motion by the subjection of social life to the profit imperative. Building on a critical reconstruction of Karl Marx’s unfinished critique of political economy and a wide range of contemporary Marxist theory, philosopher Søren Mau sets out to explain how the logic of capital tightens its stranglehold on the life of society by constantly remoulding the material conditions of social reproduction. In the course of doing so, Mau intervenes in classical and contemporary debates about the value form, crisis theory, biopolitics, social reproduction, humanism, logistics, agriculture, metabolism, the body, competition, technology and relative surplus populations.

“"Not a day goes by without a question imposing itself on the minimally sane mind: how can all this shit around us just go on? In this masterful study, S”

Not a day goes by without a question imposing itself on the minimally sane mind: how can all this shit around us just go on? In this masterful study, Søren Mau methodically drills into the core of the matter: the deeply entrenched power of some people over others, and of capital over everyone. It is this power that drives the disasters of our time, and it is a specific form of power, one rooted in the most basal layers of existence-the economy, where human bodies are (supposed to be) sustained. Written with verve and clarity, analytically sharp and dialectically shrewd in equal measure, Mute Compulsion reinvigorates historical materialism for the mid-twenty-first century. Through close readings of Marx and critical dialogues with contemporary theory, it throws up fresh insights for a new generation of Marxists, as well as for long-time connoisseurs. A big red book to cherish. -- Andreas Malm, author of Fossil Capital (Verso, 2016), The Progress of this Storm (2018) and How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2021).
An instant classic. The best introduction to Marx's thought in any language. -- Aaron Benanav
This is the first in-depth investigation of a key concept used in Marx's Capital: mute compulsion. Far beyond a purely philological exercise, Søren Mau shows the centrality of this concept for a better understanding of capitalist class rule, subsumption and biopolitics. If we take the findings of Søren Mau's book seriously, it will considerably change our views on the "power of capital" and the political strategies to fight against this power. -- Michael Heinrich
Mute Compulsion manages to do something quite extraordinary: it puts a definitive end to accusations of economic reductionism levelled against Marx through an argument which is both complex, and yet very simple. By proposing that capital's domination operates through a form of economic power that subordinates our everyday life, Mau underscores the need to throw our gaze not only at what happens in the workplace, but particularly outside of it. A tour de force through some of the key Marxist concepts and debates. -- Sara R. Farris, author of In the Name of Women's Rights. The Rise of Femonationalism (Duke UP, 2017)
Søren Mau's Mute Compulsion offers a unique and relatable entry into the social and economic dimensions of modern Marxist thought. -- Matt McManus The Nation
Mute Compulsion deserves all the praise it has received. -- Trey Taylor Splinter
Every communist should have a copy of this book. -- Design For Manufracture
More than three decades after the decline of "actually existing socialism", the traditions of dead generations are weighing a bit less heavily on the brains of the living. Søren Mau has stepped into this historical void with a theoretically ambitious book that is clear in its revolutionary intentions but open to comradely critique. -- William Westgard-Cruice Antipode
Mute Compulsion succeeds marvelously at constructing a picture of the impersonal aspects of capitalist domination -- Pete Dolack Counterpunch
Mute Compulsion makes for a thrilling read. I am confident that we will be grappling with and building on Mau's contributions for years to come. -- William Clare Roberts Jacobin
Mute Compulsion gives a name to that troubling silence that keeps our jaws clenched as we move through the halls of our extortionate universities, clasping to find an apartment that won't cost us half of our monthly salary, go to work every day even though we despise it, and stay on the dentist's waiting list for months on end to desperately find a cure for our grinding molars. -- Samuel Fisher Spectre
Søren Mau writes about the "mute compulsion" of capitalism: You gotta play the game or else you don't eat. -- Timothy Faust Rolling Stone

Søren Mau is a communist philosopher and postdoctoral researcher based in Copenhagen, Denmark. He is an editor of the journal Historical Materialism and a member of the board of the Danish Society for Marxist Studies.

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