Living in Times of Debt: An Interview with Citlali Rovirosa-Madrazo

Bauman's concept of fluidity is a metaphor to describe the social and political transformations experienced in the 20th century. It finds its representation in the dissolution and fluidization of the institutions of modernity. In this context, liquid modernity is “post-utopian”, “post-Fordist”, “post-National” and “post-panoptic”. According to Bauman, neoliberalism has played a decisive role in the recent transformations of liquid capitalism. One of the features of this transformation is "the transition from a producer society to a consumer society". Added to this transition is a clear and striking process that transforms people into a "debt race", and the new but deplorable role of the state is limited to the "executioner of market sovereignty". In this state “the radical privatization of human destiny goes hand in hand with the radical deregulation of industry and finance.” Our socially constructed communities, identities and institutions have become more unstable and insecure, creating “fluid identities” in a world where the decline of the state and the blurring of national borders have become inevitable. “Fluid times” have reduced the civil rights culture to a “culture of charity, humiliation, and stigma,” which will be discussed at length in this book. Reading and chatting with Bauman is quite addictive, especially because of his subtle humor and sense of irony. But arguing is like entering a dark cave and losing it within seconds. Realizing that he has entered a different tunnel is like realizing that there is no visible light, no clear path at the end of the tunnel.

- Citlali Rovirosa-Madrazo -

(From the Promotional Bulletin)

Dough Type: 2nd Dough

Size: 13.5 x 21

First Print Year: 2019

Number of Printings: 1st Edition