Overview
- Explores the creation and use of magical practices, chants and rituals in different spheres of the political economy
- Examines how the economy, politics, law, markets, business and cultural production are performed magically through media
- Applies well-founded anthropological topics like animism, shamanism and technologies of enchantment to assess social phenomena such as central banking, contract law and marketing
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About this book
This volume of essays examines the ways in which magical practices are found in different aspects of contemporary capitalist societies. From contract law to science, by way of finance, business, marketing, advertising, cultural production, and the political economy in general, each chapter argues that the kind of magic studied by anthropologists in less developed societies – shamanism, sorcery, enchantment, the occult – is not only alive and well, but flourishing in the midst of so-called ‘modernity’. Modern day magicians range from fashion designers and architects to Donald Trump and George Soros. Magical rites take place in the form of political summits, the transformation of products into brands through advertising campaigns, and the biannual fashion collections shown in New York, London, Milan and Paris. Magical language, in the form of magical spells, is used by everyone, from media to marketers and all others devoted to the art of ‘spin’.
Whilemagic may appear to be opposed to systems of rational economic thought, Moeran and Malefyt highlight the ways it may in fact be an accomplice to it.
Whilemagic may appear to be opposed to systems of rational economic thought, Moeran and Malefyt highlight the ways it may in fact be an accomplice to it.
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Keywords
- Economic anthropology
- Economics of magic
- Economics of the occult
- Contemporary capitalism
- Occult economies
- Islamic finance
- Law and anthropology
- World Economic Forum meeting at Davos
- Fashion studies
- Marketing and consumer behaviour
- Occult Practices in Political Economy
- Ritual in Economy, Business, Law and Politics
- Magic capitalism
- Animism
- Shamanism
- Technologies of enchantment
- Central banking
- Austin’s theory of speech
- Magical language
- Occult practices in contemporary economies
Table of contents (13 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Editors and Affiliations
About the editors
Brian Moeran is an anthropologist who specialises in cultural production and Japan. He has, in his time, been a helicopter pilot in Her Britannic Majesty’s Royal Navy, a television comedian in Japan, and the first social scientist appointed to a Chair Professorship in language and literature at a UK university.
Timothy de Waal Malefyt is Clinical Associate Professor of Marketing at Gabelli Business School, Fordham University, USA. He is a corporate anthropologist who worked for 15 years in advertising agencies, including BBDO and D’Arcy. He blends consumer insights with anthropological theories, and is a former ballet dancer at the Joffrey.
Timothy de Waal Malefyt is Clinical Associate Professor of Marketing at Gabelli Business School, Fordham University, USA. He is a corporate anthropologist who worked for 15 years in advertising agencies, including BBDO and D’Arcy. He blends consumer insights with anthropological theories, and is a former ballet dancer at the Joffrey.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Magical Capitalism
Book Subtitle: Enchantment, Spells, and Occult Practices in Contemporary Economies
Editors: Brian Moeran, Timothy de Waal Malefyt
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74397-4
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Economics and Finance, Economics and Finance (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-74396-7Published: 26 July 2018
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-08980-1Published: 22 December 2018
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-74397-4Published: 16 July 2018
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XVIII, 349
Topics: Cultural Economics, Anthropology, Marketing, Law and Economics, Economic Policy, Heterodox Economics