{"product_id":"the-demon-of-writing-powers-and-failures-of-paperwork-9781942130352","title":"The Demon of Writing: Powers and Failures of Paperwork","description":"\u003cp\u003eSince the middle of the eighteenth century, political thinkers of all kinds -- radical and reactionary, professional and amateur -- have been complaining about \"bureaucracy.\" But what, exactly, is all this complaining about? \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Demon of Writing\u003c\/i\u003e is a critical history and theory of one of the most ubiquitous, least understood forms of media: paperwork. States rely on records to tax and spend, protect and serve, discipline and punish. But time and again this paperwork proves to be unreliable. Examining episodes from the story of a clerk who lost his job and then his mind in the French Revolution to Roland Barthes's brief stint as a university administrator, the book reveals the powers, failures, and even pleasures of paperwork. Many of its complexities, the book argues, have been obscured by the comic-paranoid style that characterizes so many of our criticisms of bureaucracy. At the same time, the book outlines a new theory of what Marx called the \"bureaucratic medium.\" Returning first to Marx, then to Freud, \u003ci\u003eThe Demon of Writing\u003c\/i\u003e argues that this theory of paperwork must be attentive to both praxis and parapraxis.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-6568934\"\u003eBen Kafka\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Zone Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/14\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 184\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.65lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.70d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781942130352\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 194213035X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-SOC\"\u003eSocial Science\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-SOC052000\"\u003eMedia Studies\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-HIS\"\u003eHistory\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-HIS054000\"\u003eSocial History\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Zone Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42699335270637,"sku":"9781942130352","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/8097\/6621\/products\/img_1672a1fa-3ef3-4d7a-9e3b-27a6b0205246.jpg?v=1649915826","url":"https:\/\/sureshotbooks.com\/products\/the-demon-of-writing-powers-and-failures-of-paperwork-9781942130352","provider":"SureShot Books Publishing LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}