Uncertainty deepens societies’ need for narratives and makes finance their model

Evidence

Capitalist societies have always relied on their capacity to anticipate, imagine, and speculate on the future in order to navigate its uncertainty and volatility. But what happens to our power of imagination in the era of populist demagogues, “fake news,” and “culture wars,” when uncertainty becomes radicalized and the boundary between reality and fiction fades away? Deep economic, political, and environmental crises have marked the twenty-­first century’s first two decades. The world over, trust in public institutions and scientific knowledge is eroding, liberal democracies are becoming hollowed out, and a global tide of nationalist populism is on a precipitous rise. Our era seems to be on a hinge. Time itself feels anxious and unpredictable, while prevailing orthodoxies are shaken in both economy and polity. As societies strive to formulate responses to the volatile conditions wrought by these profound shake-­ups, their need for orienting narratives and myths becomes even greater (Beckert 2016; Bottici 2007). And as we anxiously search for cues with which to imagine such narratives and myths, finance becomes the model for society writ large. — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities, 36

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to Beckert’s ‘imagined futures’ thesis on fictional expectations; and to the reader’s broader reading purpose on how speculation reshapes social imagination. — connects to: Radicalized uncertainty pushes societies to adopt finance as a model for imagining the future — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities: Living With…, 18; Finance becomes the model for society’s responses to uncertainty. — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities: Living With…, 80; Finance is monetized quantification of future uncertainty exploiting shared existential precariousness — Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 554 (+10 more)

Broader Connections

• Radicalized uncertainty pushes societies to adopt finance as a model for imagining the future #corroborates (0.95) — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities, 18
• Finance becomes the model for society’s responses to uncertainty. #corroborates (0.93) — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities, 80
• Finance shapes modern societies’ collective myths and imagined communities, not just economies #expands (0.82) — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities, 19
• Finance is monetized quantification of future uncertainty exploiting shared existential precariousness #expands (0.80) — Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 554
• Global finance, politics, and culture form interlinked imagined worlds producing uncertain landscapes. #expands (0.78) — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities, 130
• Existential uncertainty, not just political economy, enabled national imagined communities #expands (0.75) — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities, 95
• Finance’s resilience stems from imagination, not rationality #expands (0.72) — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities, 28
• Financial wealth is fictitious yet real because shared fictions govern social reproduction #expands (0.70) — Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 42