Capturing Finance

“In this compelling work, Carolyn Hardin zeroes in on the founding paradox of modern finance—arbitrage or the possibility of risk-free gain—to illuminate the system of abstract capture in which we live. A bold new voice, Hardin updates the critique of capitalism for a financial age and proposes a new politics of risk-based solidarity for our times.” - Melinda Cooper, author of Family Values: Between Neoliberalism and the New Social Conservatism

“This brilliant and beautifully written book sets a new standard for the social study of finance by exposing the paradox that arbitrage, the most frequent evil in the theory of finance, is the most reliable producer of financial profits in financial markets. This is a book for all scholars, both within and outside business schools, who want to find alternatives to the hegemony of finance in our everyday lives.” - Arjun Appadurai, Paulette Goddard Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication, New York University

“Capturing Finance provides a robust framework for analyzing arbitrage and the financial system it underpins. Drawing chiefly on Moishe Postone, with a touch of Deleuze and Guattari, Hardin combines a precise and flexible theoretical apparatus . . . with detailed technical analysis.” - Jordan Sjol, Journal of Cultural Economy