Speculation, not conspiracy, is capitalism’s most powerful producer of unreality.

Evidence

States of unreality do not originate within conspiracy; it is in finance itself, capitalism’s crown jewel, where they express themselves with the most force. Reality and fiction are imbricated within speculative communities; fighting to untangle them can become a futile distraction from the perennial struggle for more democratic and autonomous ways of living. — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities, 563

Categorization

• XREF: Links to the finance-as-speculation-through-imagination thread of this book, and echoes Zamyatin’s We and the formal conspiracies of fabricated rationalities the reader tracks. — connects to: The spirit of capitalism shifts from risk-taking to uncertainty-endorsing speculation. — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities: Living With…, 79; Speculative imagination, not just disciplined capital, drives capitalism forward — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities: Living With…, 17; Under real subsumption, social life itself becomes object of capitalist speculation — Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 457 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• The spirit of capitalism shifts from risk-taking to uncertainty-endorsing speculation. #expands (0.92) — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities, 79
• Speculative imagination, not just disciplined capital, drives capitalism forward #corroborates (0.88) — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities, 17
• A collective speculative imagination shapes how capitalist societies cope with future uncertainty. #expands (0.85) — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities, 45
• Speculation now pervades economic, social, and political life as an imagined collective enactment #expands (0.82) — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities, 85
• Finance capitalism’s power struggles are fundamentally contests over speculative imagination #expands (0.80) — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities, 148
• Under real subsumption, social life itself becomes object of capitalist speculation #expands (0.78) — Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 457
• Impatience with capitalism’s future promises makes personal imagination increasingly speculative. #qualifies (0.78) — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities, 45
• Imagined Communities analysis can be deployed to study financialized capitalism through speculation. #expands (0.75) — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities, 127
• Counter-speculation turns financial uncertainty against oppressive structures #complicates (0.75) — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities, 69