L’obsolescence du politique à l’ère du « capitalisme absolu » : Cosmopolis de Don DeLillo et Resistere non serve a niente de Walter Siti

Abstract

In a time of globalisation, massive fi nancialization of economies and unbounded neoliberalism, we are witnessing an unprecedented domination of the economic over other social spheres, and especially over political power. Th is article analyses two contemporary novels, Cosmopolis (Don DeLillo, 2003) and Resistere non serve a niente (Walter Siti, 2012) in order to explore the failings of politics in the context of what Étienne Balibar calls “capitalisme absolu” (“absolute capitalism”). It is argued here that both novels show how fi nance (re)confi gures the balance of power, subordinating politics to economics; to the point of undermining the workings of democratic institutions. Th ese novels invite us to refl ect on the way in which literature can propose a counter-discourse and contribute to opening up new possibilities for weakened democracies.