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Imagined Futures: Fictional Expectations and Capitalist Dynamics 1st Edition

by Jens Beckert (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 8 ratings
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In a capitalist system, consumers, investors, and corporations orient their activities toward a future that contains opportunities and risks. How actors assess uncertainty is a problem that economists have tried to solve through general equilibrium and rational expectations theory. Powerful as these analytical tools are, they underestimate the future’s unknowability by assuming that markets, in the aggregate, correctly forecast what is to come.

Jens Beckert adds a new chapter to the theory of capitalism by demonstrating how fictional expectations drive modern economies―or throw them into crisis when the imagined futures fail to materialize. Collectively held images of how the future will unfold are critical because they free economic actors from paralyzing doubt, enabling them to commit resources and coordinate decisions even if those expectations prove inaccurate. Beckert distinguishes fictional expectations from performativity theory, which holds that predictions tend to become self-fulfilling prophecies. Economic forecasts are important not because they produce the futures they envision but because they create the expectations that generate economic activity in the first place. Actors pursue money, investments, innovations, and consumption only if they believe the objects obtained through market exchanges will retain value. We accept money because we believe in its future purchasing power. We accept the risk of capital investments and innovation because we expect profit. And we purchase consumer goods based on dreams of satisfaction.

As Imagined Futures shows, those who ignore the role of real uncertainty and fictional expectations in market dynamics misunderstand the nature of capitalism.

Previous page
  1. ISBN-10
    0674088824
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0674088825
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    Harvard University Press
  5. Publication date
    June 7, 2016
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    6.5 x 1.5 x 9.75 inches
  8. Print length
    384 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"[Imagined Futures] is a carefully reasoned and highly readable volume that makes a signal contribution to our understanding of capitalism and modern economies." (Paul DiMaggio, Distinktion. Journal of Social Theory)

Imagined Futures is "a clever, ambitious, and thought-provoking book, which sets a new standard for the history and theory of capitalism and opens up a panoply of research themes to be pursued in the years to come." (Francesco Boldizzoni, Critical Historical Studies)

"Beckert's book is a marvelous invitation to rethink problems not just in economic sociology but in any field interested in social outcomes through the lens of expectations, imagination and fantasy. I can only imagine its future impact on the entire discipline." (Akos Rona-Tas, Socio-Economic Review)

"A wonderful book about how the most basic forms of economic activity are grounded less in conventional rational calculation than in how people imagine the future. (John L. Campbell, American Journal of Sociology)

About the Author

Jens Beckert is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harvard University Press; 1st edition (June 7, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0674088824
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0674088825
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.4 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.5 x 9.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 8 ratings

About the author

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Jens Beckert

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Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
8 global ratings

Top review from the United States

L
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended
Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2018
This book is extremely good, covers a ton of ground, and is written very, very well. I would recommend it to anybody interested in economics, sociology, political science, and/or the study of capitalism.
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