A Critical Approach to ‘Financialization’ through the Castoriadian Lens of the ‘Social Imaginary’

Abstract

In order to capture certain dynamics of recent socio-economic history over the last forty years, many scholars have made use of the term ‘Financialization'. The concept has been used as a lens to understand myriad phenomena including de-industrialization, the forces responsible for the decline of the middle class, the rise of an ethics of ‘individual responsibility, the growth of unprecedented economic inequality, a catalyst for the diffusion of a shareholder value logic of corporate governance, a cause of the recent subprime crisis, and as a force behind the increasing commodification of everyday human life. Despite the significant exploration of the processes and effects of ‘financialization' by scholars in disparate fields, there has been a relative dearth of research that endeavors to explore the more ideational and therefore cognitive/emotional aspects of financialization. The present study will address this gap by using the lens of the ‘social imaginary' as developed by the Social Philosopher/Psychoanalyst Cornelius Castoriadis. The argument will be made that we now live in a world where the ‘Imaginary of financialization' has become an overarching ‘imaginary signification' that serves to orient human behavior, define social relations and determines the forms of our socio-technical projects.