Marx and Philosophy Review of Books: 99 Theses on the Revaluation of Value

Review of 99 Theses on the Revaluation of Value by Brian Massumi

A speculative exploration of value, emphasizing practical experimentation in its future forms

Continuing his experiments in new materialist politics, Massumi’s second collaborative book with SenseLab, 99 Theses, points to an anti-capitalist programme that breaks with the usual Marxist doctrines. At once a work of philosophy, economics, ethics and politics, this book draws heavily on Massumi’s previous works, most notably The Politics of Affect (2015), as well as rich lines of thought drawn from Deleuze and Guattari’s collaborations. Indeed, for those swimming in these murky poststructuralist waters, few of Massumi’s propositions will sound unfamiliar. Most pertinently, Marx’s labour theory of value is reconfigured through his ontological lens, injecting into the analysis a qualitative and affective field which serves as the central consideration of the book.

 

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