You can order
Need and Desire
in the Post-Material Economy
By James Heartfield
81pp, ISBN 08639 790 5
from Perpetuity
Press
|
You can order |
Praise for Need and Desire in the
Post-Material Economy:
'An excellent and timely intervention'
Terry Eagleton
' James Heartfield suggests that the 'post-material' economy is a
self-serving concept and that modern economic thought masks the
decline in western European economies . After the collapse of
industry, we have a "consumer economy", which is merely
non-productive. This attitude emerged as disputes over production
have become less relevant (the unions have been squashed), while
the anti-Marxist "politics of desire" is built on the
exploitative surplus: the real social issues are avoided. The
consumption of workers is limited to their basic needs, and the
rich still luxuriate in their surplus value. '
New
Statesman, 24 July 1998
'It's a fine little booklet. Even when I disagree with James, I
always admire his intelligence & clarity, and Need &
Desire is no exception to his usual standard.'
Doug Henwood, author Wall Street
'Essential reading for anyone with an interest
in today's culture'
The Cherwell, 16 October 1998
'In Need and Desire in the Post-Material
Economy James Heartfield delivers a brutal exposure of the
post-material society or "creative economy"'
Peter Ray, LM, November 1998
'A trenchant, lucid and much-needed critique of the myths of
identity politics and the "consumer society".' Kenan
Malik, author The Meaning of Race
'At a time when mainstream theorists from Derrida to Butler have
used Bataille's notion of "general economy" to
religitimate in a "new" rhetoric the existing social
order, James Heartfield makes a rigourous argument for a
runderstanding of "production" and "
consumption" and for a clear distintion between
"need" and "desire". For a social justice
based of an equitable access to material resources, Heartfield
argues that these terms must be clearly distinguished.'
Donald Morton, editor The Material Queer
'James Heartfield argues that post-materialism has gained ground
as a result of low rates of industrial growth.'
Investment Advisor, 9 November 1998
'Through his materialistic glasses, social theorist James
Heartfield puts the post-materialists in their place'.
Varsity, 30 October, 1998
 |
|
'In this thought-provoking paper, Heartfield attempts to lay bare
the facts about the changing perception of design and the arts in
Britain today. He develops the idea that there has been a shift
in the national psyche, elevating artists and designers to almost
mythological status -- heights they often cannot live up to.
According to Heartfield, the way in which the art world has
responded to these "great expectations" has been
varied: examples range from Tate Modern, which has captured the
public imagination, to the much derided Millennium Dome. However,
he conveys a darker side to this "style revolution", in
that "the public's fascination with creative work... has
come about because of the lack of reward in conventional
work". A balanced, refreshing account in a social climate of
"Cool Britannia" and Tory xenophobia.'
The
New Statesman, September 11, 2000
 |
You can order Sustaining
Architecture in the Anti-Machine Age at £19.99,
plus £3.26p&p from Publications, audacity.org, 8 College Close, Hackney,London, E9 6ER Make cheques payable to 'Audacity Ltd' |
"Sustainability is today's buzzword, but can it be
reconciled with social progress? Sustaining Architecture in the
Anti-Machine Age considers the competing policy demands facing
architects (and others) in a series of essays from leading
academics, practitioners and commentators covering contemporary
architecture, developments in the building industry, and a range
of social, economic and environmental policy. 'We are reliant on
technology more than ever before, but industrial development is
held in low esteem by environmentalists,' say the book's
compilers Ian Abley and James Heartfield, who are from the
Audacity research group (www.audacity. org). Challenging the
'platitudes of sustainability', they say 'No-one wants to be
accused of acting unsustainably, but scratch the surface and it
is far from clear what sustainability means across a variety of
disciplines.'"
Natfhe
Journal
 |
You can order The 'Death of the
Subject' Explained at £11.00, plus £1.50p&p from Publications, audacity.org, 8 College Close, Hackney, London, E9 6ER Make cheques payable to 'Audacity Ltd' Or from Perpetuity Press |