Speculation is generative and relational, mobilizing collectives rather than atomizing individuals

Evidence

When grappling with the uncertain consequences of deregulated markets in their everyday lives, they did not merely (or erroneously) assess risks. Rather, they speculated on the (ethical as well as political) values of oil and petrochemical companies responsible for air and water pollution, and also on the values of the local and federal government involved in the (de)regulation of these industries. This generative and relational function of the speculative imagination is crucial here. Rather than growing apart, Louisianans mobilized that speculative imagination as a means to come together in the face of continuing “broken promises.” By turning to complex webs of mutuality found in religious congregations, in families, and in other local communities, they were able to reallocate moral responsibilities more collectively. In doing so, the idea that “we’re all in this together” helped to cement their sense of belonging to the speculative community, offering a much-needed moral anchoring for hedging their uncertain futures. — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities, 283

Categorization

• DEFINE: Specifies what speculative imagination does functionally for a community: generative, relational, not merely risk-assessment.
• XREF: Connects to the book’s core axis of whether speculation atomizes or binds, relevant to assessing the author’s overall thesis for this reader’s purpose. — connects to: Cultic self-gathering makes the move to pure speculative thought possible; Speculative imagination can unite communities rather than atomize them. — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities: Living with…, 435
• QUESTION: Worth chasing: does this relational account of speculation survive contact with the ‘financialized populism’ claim, or does it undercut the atomization premise?