Social fictions are how societies make sense of sublime reproduction

Evidence

The social fabric of reproduction is, for lack of a better term, sublime: its scope, complexity, interconnectivity and – in Jameson’s (1981) terms – totality cannot be comprehended by the imagination. As such, in order to reflect, understand and intervene in reproduction, we rely on imaginative or ideological constructs, or social fictions. These are the narratives and metaphors we use to make sense of our place (as individuals, as collectives, as societies), within which we are made to reproduce our lives. These imaginative fictions are central to our ability to cooperate and to act. — Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 121

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces the book’s core term ‘social fictions’ as ideological constructs needed to grasp a totality the imagination cannot comprehend.
• XREF: Cites Jameson; the sublime-totality framing links to postmodernist critiques of representability - bridges to the deWaard cultural-financialization thesis. — connects to: Communities endure financialized life’s chaos by building shared fictions — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities: Living with…, 563; All economic value, not just financial value, is a social fiction — Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 111; Financial wealth is fictitious yet real because shared fictions govern social reproduction — Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 42 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Financial wealth is fictitious yet real because shared fictions govern social reproduction #expands (0.85) — Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 42
• Culture spans everyday social reproduction and aesthetic practice as one contested process #expands (0.78) — Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 114
• Capitalism’s material system is interwoven with cultural reproduction #expands (0.75) — Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 122