Narcocapitalism: Life in the Age of Anaesthesia 1st Edition

by Laurent de Sutter (Author), Barnaby Norman (Translator)

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ISBN-13: 978-1509506842

ISBN-10: 1509506845

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What do the invention of anaesthetics in the middle of the nineteenth century, the Nazis' use of cocaine, and the development of Prozac have in common? The answer is that they're all products of the same logic that defines our contemporary era: 'the age of anaesthesia'. Laurent de Sutter shows how large aspects of our lives are now characterised by the management of our emotions through drugs, ranging from the everyday use of sleeping pills to hard narcotics. Chemistry has become so much a part of us that we can’t even see how much it has changed us.

In this era, being a subject doesn't simply mean being subjected to powers that decide our lives: it means that our very emotions have been outsourced to chemical stimulation. Yet we don't understand why the drugs that we take are unable to free us from fatigue and depression, and from the absence of desire that now characterizes our psychopolitical condition. We have forgotten what it means to be excited because our only excitement has become drug-induced. We have to abandon the narcotic stimulation that we’ve come to rely on and find a way back to the collective excitement that is narcocapitalism’s greatest fear.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"This fascinating book can be read in many ways: as a short history of modern psycho-pharmacology, as a theory of contemporary politics as anaesthesia of the social body, as a philosophical breakthrough on the ontological dimension of depression. It should be on the must-read list of every philosopher, psychoanalyst or social activist interested in experiencing the excitement of a true intellectual adventure."
Franco Berardi, author of The Uprising and Heroes

About the Author

Laurent de Sutter is Professor of Legal Theory at Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

Paperback: 140 pages
Publisher: Polity; 1 edition (January 3, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1509506845
ISBN-13: 978-1509506842
Product Dimensions: 4.9 x 0.5 x 7.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 5.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 2 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #696,546 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1211 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > History & Surveys
- #1323 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > Philosophy > History & Surveys
- #22498 in Books > Textbooks > Social Sciences

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Anthony W. Lowman

But that's probably why I liked it so much

July 25, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is a very interesting read down an even more engaging avenue too few even bother contemplating: the politics of Being and its struggle to freely Be as opposed to being systematically controlled through pharmaceutics.

It's a fairly short read; however, that does not lighten its punch. The power in this text lies in its brevity. Any longer treatment of its subjects and theme might limit its readership to a more academically disciplined readership. As presented, de Sutter's Narcocapitalism will serve to introduce more readers to critically important issues of our times than some of the more epic philosophical reads, the ones that forget we're not all as disciplined at reading as the writer is at writing, the ones that end up on coffee tables or prominently displayed on bookshelves but you pray nobody asks you to explain.

I know I'll read this short book again because I'm sure I didn't capture all its message the first time through. But that's probably why I liked it so much. It's like a gripping, short conversation you had with someone you're already looking forward to revisiting.

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No cure, just control

December 11, 2017

Format: Hardcover

The unifying theme of Narcocapitalism is the de-excitement of the masses. If you can keep people calm, you can manipulate them as desired. So the psychological, political and capitalistic ends can be achieved. This is an unusual thesis, and de Sutter gathers unusual underpinnings to pull it together.

He starts with the invention of anesthesia, which transformed surgery and the ability of doctors to manipulate (individual) bodies. This evolved to the introduction of cocaine into seemingly everything, but especially via drugmakers. If people were calmed by cocaine and its derivatives, they would be less agitated and activist, and better consumers – all benefits to capitalism. Drugs evolved to change the circadian rhythm, allowing soldiers to kill without sleep, night clubbers to stay up endless hours, workers to be pressed for more productivity. Possibly the oddest evidence resides in birth control pills, which men feared would excite, rather than de-excite women into having non-productive sex at will. This went against all the principles of control – except the better consumer aspect.

Today, we have massive opioid and anti-depressant pandemics, which serve to calm the nerves and dull the thought processes of millions. No one is ever cured of anything; they are simply kept de-excited. The drugmakers are in narco-heaven. Even as taking the drugs is illegal, designing them, making them and selling them to doctors and pharmacies is not. It’s the true hypocrisy and contraction of the capitalist system.

As I read, I kept thinking correlation is not causation, and de Sutter’s arguments didn’t bowl me over. But they are outside the box, which is always of interest to me.

David Wineberg

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