Capitalist dynamics: fictional expectations and the openness of the future

"Capitalism is an economic and social order oriented toward the future. In this paper, I describe the unfolding of the temporal order of capitalism and relate it to the restless dynamism of capitalism we have observed since the Industrial Revolution. Since the future is open, actors are confron...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Beckert, Jens
Institution:ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
Format: TEXT
Language:English
Published: Köln 2014
MPIfG
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19118090124919362729-Capitalist-dynamics-fictional-.htm
_version_ 1771659902585929730
author Beckert, Jens
author_facet Beckert, Jens
collection Library items
description "Capitalism is an economic and social order oriented toward the future. In this paper, I describe the unfolding of the temporal order of capitalism and relate it to the restless dynamism of capitalism we have observed since the Industrial Revolution. Since the future is open, actors are confronted with the uncertainty of the outcomes of their decisions. What can expectations be under conditions of uncertainty? To answer this question, I introduce the notion of fictional expectations which can be used to describe decisions made under conditions of an open and uncertain future. In the paper's penultimate section, I apply the concept of fictional expectations to the analysis of four crucial processes of capitalism: money and credit, investments, innovation, and consumption. The main thrust of the paper is that in order to understand economic action in capitalism, actors' perceptions of the future need to take center stage. Not only "history matters," but also the "future matters."
format TEXT
id 19118090124919362729_f1ea4945e6974e6f9929ea4916235c4c
institution ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
is_hierarchy_id 19118090124919362729_f1ea4945e6974e6f9929ea4916235c4c
is_hierarchy_title Capitalist dynamics: fictional expectations and the openness of the future
language English
physical 17 p.
Digital
publishDate 2014
publisher Köln
MPIfG
spellingShingle Beckert, Jens
capitalism
economic policy
future
Capitalist dynamics: fictional expectations and the openness of the future
thumbnail https://www.labourline.org/Image_prev.jpg?Archive=109176892735
title Capitalist dynamics: fictional expectations and the openness of the future
topic capitalism
economic policy
future
url https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19118090124919362729-Capitalist-dynamics-fictional-.htm