Late Capitalist Freud in Literary, Cultural, and Political Theory

Late Capitalist Freud in Literary, Cultural, and Political Theory proposes that late Freudian theory has had an historical influence on the configuration of contemporary life and is central to the construction of twenty-first-century capitalism. This book investigates how we continue to live in the Freudian century, turning its attentions to specific crisis points within neoliberalism-the rise of figures like Trump, the development of social media as a new superego force, the economics that underpin the wellness and self-care industries as well as the contemporary consumption of popular culture-to maintain the continued historical importance of Freudian thought in all its dimensions. Drawing on psychoanalytic theory, literary theory, cultural studies, and political theory, this book assesses the contribution that an historical and theoretical consideration of the late Freud can make to analyzing certain aspects of late capital.

Maria-Daniella Dick is Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Glasgow, UK, and co-author of The Derrida Wordbook (2013). Her research and teaching is in the fields of critical theory and continental philosophy; modernism and modernity; comparative literature; and psychoanalysis.
Robbie McLaughlan is Lecturer in English Literature at Newcastle University, UK, and the author of Reimagining the Dark Continent in fin de siècle Literature (2012). He has published extensively on the developmental history of psychoanalytic theory and in its application to contemporary issues.