Introduction: We have never been democratic

The contributions to this special issue of Public are based on conversations held and work developed during the 2015 Banff Research in Culture (BRiC) research residency, “Demos: Life in Common.” Held high in the mountains of Banff National Park, Alberta, “Demos: Life in Common” sought to “bring together artists, writers, researchers, and cultural producers who in their work are exploring the ways in which we might reinvigorate democratic life today—not just ‘democratic’ in its narrow, political sense, but as life in common in which being and belonging engenders the full flourishing of individuals and communities.” Twenty-nine participant scholars and artists worked together with the 2015 BRiC faculty, including residency organizers Eva-Lynn Jagoe and Imre Szeman, distinguished scholar and political agitator Nina Power, renowned writer and activist Astra Taylor, and celebrated artist Alex Hartley. Over the course of the residency, the organizers, guest faculty, and participant scholars and artists worked individually and collaboratively on a wide array of research and artistic projects, out of which grew a body of work that we have collected here under the theme, “We Have Never Been Democratic.” The theme of this issue riffs on the title of Bruno Latour’s We Have Never Been Modern, in which Latour argues that modernity constitutes itself through a dualism between the natural and the social. If, for Latour, the modern distinction between society and nature never actually existed, this dossier sets out to challenge the notion that the neoliberal present constitutes a radical deviation from a vibrant history of democratic liberalism, and to assert instead that democracy has since its inception been marked by its own imaginary dualism between the demos and the sovereign

Energy and eventhood: the infrastructural set piece

‘Energy and Eventhood’ considers the relationship between infrastructure and the cinematic set piece. It proposes a working definition of the set piece as a distinctly (and perhaps excessively) effortful passage or sequence, and reflects on the tendency for narrative films to incorporate infrastructural sites and structures—such as bridges, dams and pipelines—into such set pieces. A number of writers on infrastructure, as both a cultural phenomenon and a representational object, have noted the aesthetic challenge of rendering it as visible and locatable; this article examines how that difficulty becomes manifest in the infrastructural set piece. It takes as its case studies Unstoppable (2010) and Night Moves (2013), two films noted for their distinctive rhythmic expressiveness, and each one deploying the convention of the set piece in ways which exemplify and reflect on the resistance of infrastructure to narrative containment

The anthropology of extraction: critical perspectives on the resource curse

Attempts to address the resource curse remain focussed on revenue management, seeking technical solutions to political problems over examinations of relations of power. In this paper, we provide a review of the contribution anthropological research has made over the past decade to understanding the dynamic interplay of social relations, economic interests and struggles over power at stake in the political economy of extraction. In doing so, we show how the constellation of subaltern and elite agency at work within processes of resource extraction is vital in order to confront the complexities, incompatibilities, and inequities in the exploitation of mineral resources

The Bloomsbury Companion to Marx

There are very few figures in history that have exerted as much and as varied an influence as Karl Marx. His work represents an unrivalled intervention into fields as various as philosophy, journalism, economics, history, politics and cultural criticism. His name is invoked across the political spectrum in connection to revolution and insurrection, social justice and economic transformation. The Bloomsbury Companion to Marx is the definitive reference guide to Marx's life and work. Written by an international team of leading Marx scholars, the book offers comprehensive coverage of Marx's: life and contexts; sources, influences and encounters; key writings; major themes and topics; and reception and influence. The defining feature of this Companion is its attention to the new directions in Marxism that animate the theoretical, scientific, and political sides of Marx's thought. Gender and the growing importance of Marxist-feminism is treated as equally important to clarifying Marx today as traditional and diverse categories of critique such as class, capital, and mode of production. Similarly, this Companion showcases the methodological and political importance of Marxism to environmentalist politics. Finally, the volume examines in detail non-European Marxisms, demonstrating the centrality of Marxist thought to political movements both within and beyond the global north. This book is the ideal research resource for anyone working on Marx and his ideas today, and as an entry point, if you are approaching Marx's thought for the first time. Table of contents Preface, Wolfgang Fritz Haug, Free University Berlin (Germany) Introduction, Andrew Pendakis, Imre Szeman and Jeff Diamanti Part I: Key Writings A. Key Texts 1. 'Introduction to a Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right' (1843-44), Jerilyn Sambrooke Losch, University of California, Berkeley (United States) 2. “Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844” (1844), Judith Grant, Ohio University (United States) 3. “Theses on Feuerbach” (1845), Andrew Pendakis, Brock University (Canada) 4. The German Ideology (1846), Anna Kornbluh, University of Illinois, Chicago (United States) 5. The Communist Manifesto (1848) Peter Lamb, Staffordshire University (United Kingdom) 6. The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte (1852), Gavin Walker, McGill University (Canada) 7. The Grundrisse (1858), Nick Nesbitt, Princeton University (United States) 8. A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy (1859), Simon Choat, Kingston University, London (United Kingdom) 9. Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, Vol. I (1867), Harry Cleaver, University of Texas, Austin (United States) 10. The Civil War in France (1871), Franco Berardi, Accademia di Brera, Milan (Italy) 11. 'Critique of the Gotha Program' (1875), Andrew Pendakis, Brock University (Canada) Part II: Context B. Philosophical and Historical Context 12. Materialism and Natural Sciences, Maurizia Boscagli, University of California, Santa Barbara (United States) 13. The Christian State, Roland Boer, University of Newcastle (Australia) 14. Liberalism and its Discontents, Terrell Carver, University of Bristol (United Kingdom) 15. Philosophical Constellations, Christian Thorne, Williams College (United States) 16. Nineteenth-Century Social Sciences, Corbin Hiday, University of Chicago, Illinois (United States) 17. Industry, Technology, Energy, Robert Johnson, National University (United States) 18. Engels, Jordan Kinder, University of Alberta (Canada) C. Sources and Influences 19. Ancient Philosophy, Aaron Jaffe and Cinzia Arruzza, The Julliard School and New School for Social Research (United States) 20. Hegelianism, Andrew Cole, Princeton University (United States) 21. Political Economy, Radhika Desai, University of Manitoba (United States) 22. French Socialism and Communism, Jonathan Beecher, University of California, Santa Cruz (United States) 23. Marx's German and British Political Encounters, Will Clare Roberts, McGill University (Canada) Part III: Key Themes and Topics D. Key Themes and Topics 24. Abstraction, Leigh Claire La Berge, City University of New York (United States) 25. Accumulation, Sean O'Brien, University of Alberta (Canada) 26. Alienation, Tim Bewes, Brown University (United States) 27. Base-Superstructure, Edgar Illas, Indiana University, Bloomington (United States) 28. Capital, Elena Louisa Lange, University of Zurich (Switzerland) 29. Circulation, Atle Mikkola Kjøsen, Western University (Canada) 30. Crisis, Joshua Clover, University of California, Davis (United States) 31. Dialectics, Carolyn Lesjak, Simon Fraser University (Canada) 32. Exploitation, Matthew Cole, University of Leeds (United Kingdom) 33. Fetishism, James Penney, Trent University (Canada) 34. History and Class Struggle, Peter Hitchcock, City University of New York, Baruch College (United States) 35. Ideology, Tanner Mirrlees, University of Ontario Institute of Technology (Canada) 36. Imperialism, Tanner Mirrlees , University of Ontario Institute of Technology (Canada) 37. Mediation, Ruth Jennison, University of Massachusetts, Amherst (United States) 38. Mode of Production, Jason Read, University of Southern Maine (United States) 39. Nature and Ecology, Philip Campanile and Michael Watts, University of California, Berkeley (United States) 40. Primitive Accumulation, Jordy Rosenberg, The University of Massachusetts, Amherst (United States) 41. Profit, Alan Freeman, University of Manitoba (Canada) 42. Property, Christian Schmidt, University of Leipzig (Germany) 43. Religion, Jan Rehmann, Union Theological Seminary, New York City (United States) 44. Reproduction, Amy De'Ath, King's College, London (United Kingdom) 45. Revolutionary Communism, Peter Hudis, Oakton Community College (United States) 46. Revolutionary Strategy, Peter Hallward, Kingston University London (United Kingdom) 47. Social Relations, Kevin Floyd, Kent State University (United States) 48. Utopia, Gerry Canavan, Marquette University (United States) 49. Value, Mathias Nilges, St. Francis Xavier University (Canada) 50. Work, David Ravensbergen, York University (Canada) Part IV: Reception and Influence E. Marx after Marx 51. Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, Joe Grim Feinberg, Philosophy Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences (Czechoslovakia) 52. Latin America, Emilio Sauri, University of Massachusetts, Boston (United States) 53. China, Rebecca Karl, New York University (United States) 54. Japan, Gavin Walker, McGill University (Canada) 55. Western Europe, Jan Kandiyali, Istanbul Technical University (Turkey) 56. Arab and Middle East, Jaafar Aksikas, Columbia College, Chicago (United States) 57. India, Dhruv Jain, York University (Canada) 58. Africa, Pria Lal, Boston College (United State) 59. North America, Tanner Mirrlees, University of Ontario Institute of Technology (Canada) 60. Indigenous Internationalisms, Deena Rymhs, University of British Columbia (Canada) F. Contemporary Theory and Philosophy 61. Literature and Culture, Sarah Brouillette, Carleton University (Canada) 62. Cultural Studies, Jaafar Aksikas, Columbia College, Chicago (United States) 63. Ecology and Environmentalism, Danijela Dolenac, University of Zagreb (Croatia) 64. Gender and Feminism, Leopoldina Fortunati, University of Udine (Italy) 65. Geography, Matt Huber, Syracuse University (United States) 66. Materialisms, David Chandler, University of Westminster (United Kingdom) 67. Philosophy, Panagiotis Sortiris, Hellenic Open University (Greece) 68. Political Economy, Justin Paulson, Carleton University (Canada) 69. Political Theory, Bruno Bosteels, Columbia University (United States) 70. Psychoanalysis, Kiarina Kordela, Macalester College (United States) 71. Racism, Barbara Foley, Rutgers University (United States) 72. Sociology, Samir Gandesha, Simon Frasers University (Canada) 73. Technology, McKenzie Wark, New School for Social Research (United States) 74. Uneven Development, Harry Harootunian, New York University (United States) Inde