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9 januar2009

Magazine launch

A key task of this journal is to introduce the market 'failure' of a capitalist
economy – the repressive destructive nature of a system that works for
the few at the expense of the many – into the comfortable discussions on
how universities might best suit the interests of the labour market; or
how everyone might best become a professional member of the creative
middle class. This debate must be set against the economic and political
reality of massive debt, price hikes, wage decreases, and the general
squeeze on labour, within the context of what can only be described as
capitalism's ongoing and permanent state of crisis.

The paths of investigation here include precarious labour theory, the shifting relationship between education and capitalism, and the perhaps less abstract crises of soaring debt, variable interest rates, unemployment and bankruptcy. Also included are local reports mapping out some of the struggles taking place around Europe, which together with the texts, form a springboard from which to examine the wreck the 'economy' has left behind.

The journal features an interview with John Barker, a conversation between Tiziana Terranova and Marc Bousquet and essays by Massimo De Angelis, David Graeber, Silvia Federici, Stewart Martin. The main topics are the current crisis in the financial markets, the neoliberalisation of education, feminist and materialist critiques of immaterial labour and the proletarianisation of the middle class. It also includes a series of reports on recent protests against neoliberalisation and a glossary with key terms.