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The Politics of Transindividuality

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Published Oct 2015
ISBN: 9789004217249

Jason Read, University of Southern Maine

The Politics of Transindividuality re-examines social relations and subjectivity through the concept of transindividuality. Transindividuality is understood as the mutual constitution of individuality and collectivity, and as such it intersects with politics and economics, philosophical speculation and political practice. While the term transindividuality is drawn from the work of Gilbert Simondon, this book views it broadly, examining such canonical figures as Spinoza, Hegel, and Marx, as well as contemporary debates involving Etienne Balibar, Bernard Stiegler, and Paolo Virno. Through these intersecting aspects and interpretations of transindividuality the book proposes to examine anew the intersection of politics and economics through their mutual constitution of affects, imagination, and subjectivity.

Biographical note

Jason Read, Ph.D. (2001), Binghamton University, is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southern Maine. He published multiple essays on Spinoza, Marx, Althusser, and Deleuze. Among his writings is The Micro-Politics of Capital: Marx on the Prehistory of the Present (SUNY, 2003).

Readership

Everyone interested in contemporary Marxist theory, continental philosophy, critical theory, contemporary Spinoza scholarship, contemporary political theory.

Reviews

“Among the rapidly expanding ensemble of high quality research on the topic of “transindividuality”, Jason Read’s exploration stands out for its philosophical depth, comprehensive discussion of sources, and creative contribution to a renewed Marxist interpretation. It definitely provides a fresh departure.”
Etienne Balibar, author of The Philosophy of Marx.

Table of Contents

Transindividuality (A Concept for Marxism)

Transindividuality as Critique: Spinoza, Hegel, Marx

Transindividuality as Politics in the Thought of Étienne Balibar

‘The Obscure Zone’: Individuating Simondon

Affective Composition: Toward a Spinozist Critique of Political Economy

The Hidden Abode of Individuation: The Political Economy of Transindividuality in Stiegler and Virno

The Noopolitics of Capital: Imitation and Invention in Maurizio Lazzarato

Short-Circuits: The Politics and Economics of Transindividuality

Conclusion