The Emotional Logic of Capitalism: What Progressives Have Missed

The IHR Transdisciplinary Humanities Book Award is presented for a non-fiction work that exemplifies transdisciplinary, socially engaged humanities-based scholarship. This year’s award goes to Martijn Konings for his work "The Emotional Logic of Capitalism: What Progressives Have Missed." Konings, a political economist, moves beyond traditional Marxist critiques of capitalism by employing humanistic scholarship, drawing on the works of theorists such as Bruno Latour, Giorgio Agamben, Michel Foucault and Judith Butler. By applying humanistic perspectives, he challenges the traditional perception of capitalism as a rational, cold monster, devoid of emotion or social roots, and instead reveals its deep emotional and theological underpinnings.