What Makes Life Worth Living

In the aftermath of the First World War, the poet Paul Val ry wrote of a crisis of spirit , brought about by the instrumentalization of knowledge and the destructive subordination of culture to profit. Recent events demonstrate all too clearly that that the stock of mind, or spirit, continues to fall. The economy is toxically organized around the pursuit of short-term gain, supported by an infantilizing, dumbed-down media. Advertising technologies make relentless demands on our attention, reducing us to idiotic beasts, no longer capable of living. Spiralling rates of mental illness show that the fragile life of the mind is at breaking point. Underlying these multiple symptoms is consumer capitalism, which systematically immiserates those whom it purports to liberate. Returning to Marx s theory, Stiegler argues that consumerism marks a new stage in the history of proletarianization. It is no longer just labour that is exploited, pushed below the limits of subsistence, but the desire that is characteristic of human spirit. The cure to this malaise is to be found in what Stiegler calls a pharmacology of the spirit . Here, pharmacology has nothing to do with the chemical supplements developed by the pharmaceutical industry. The pharmakon, defined as both cure and poison, refers to the technical objects through which we open ourselves to new futures, and thereby create the spirit that makes us human. By reference to a range of figures, from Socrates, Simondon and Derrida to the child psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott, Stiegler shows that technics are both the cause of our suffering and also what makes life worth living.

In the aftermath of the First World War, the poet Paul Valérywrote of a 'crisis of spirit', brought about by theinstrumentalization of knowledge and the destructive subordinationof culture to profit. Recent events demonstrate all too clearlythat that the stock of mind, or spirit, continues to fall. Theeconomy is toxically organized around the pursuit of short-termgain, supported by an infantilizing, dumbed-down media. Advertisingtechnologies make relentless demands on our attention, reducing usto idiotic beasts, no longer capable of living. Spiralling rates ofmental illness show that the fragile life of the mind is atbreaking point.Underlying these multiple symptoms is consumer capitalism, whichsystematically immiserates those whom it purports to liberate.Returning to Marx's theory, Stiegler argues that consumerismmarks a new stage in the history of proletarianization. It is nolonger just labour that is exploited, pushed below the limits ofsubsistence, but the desire that is characteristic of human spirit.The cure to this malaise is to be found in what Stiegler calls a'pharmacology of the spirit'. Here, pharmacology hasnothing to do with the chemical supplements developed by thepharmaceutical industry. The pharmakon, defined as both cure andpoison, refers to the technical objects through which we openourselves to new futures, and thereby create the spirit that makesus human. By reference to a range of figures, from SocratesSimondon and Derrida to the child psychoanalyst Donald WinnicottStiegler shows that technics are both the cause of our sufferingand also what makes life worth living.

Acknowledgements viiiIntroduction: A Continent on the Move 11 Myriad Challenges and Opportunities 52 A Demographic Dividend or Just More People? 213 Tropical Dilemmas: Disease, Water, and More 354 Educating Future Generations 555 To War Rather than to Prosper 696 Accountability and the Wages of Corrupt Behavior 917 The Infrastructural Imperative 1168 Harnessing Mobile Telephone Capabilities 1349 China Drives Growth 15110 Strengthening Governance 17311 Creating Responsible Leadership 189Notes 216Select Bibliography 244Index 252