Leading critical artists and theorists analyse the current crisis of capitalism.

It's the Political Economy, Stupid brings together internationally acclaimed artists and thinkers, including Slavoj Zizek, David Graeber, Judith Butler and Brian Holmes, to focus on the current economic crisis in a sustained and critical manner.

In sympathy with the subject matter, the book features powerful original artwork for the cover, and an internal design theme based on the movements of Goldman Sachs stock market values by activist designer Noel Douglas. What emerges is a powerful critique of the current capitalist crisis through an analytical and theoretical response and an aesthetic-cultural rejoinder. By combining artistic responses with the analysis of leading radical theorists, the book expands the boundaries of critique beyond the usual discourse.

It's the Political Economy, Stupid argues that it is time to push back against the dictates of the capitalist logic and, by use of both theoretical and artistic means, launch a rescue of the very notion of the social.

Foreword by Pia Hovi-Assad, Pori Art Museum, Finland
1. 'Unspeaking the Grammar of Financ'” by Gregory Sholette & Oliver Ressler
2. “It’s The Political Economy, Stupid!” by Slavoj Zizek
> Liz Park comments on art from the exhibition It’s The Political Economy, Stupid
3. 'The Political Economization of Art' by John Roberts
4. 'Derivative Days: Notes on Art, Finance and the Un-Productive Forces' by Melanie Gilligan
5. 'Occupational Realism' by Julia Bryan Wilson
> Angela Dimitrakaki & Kirsten Lloyd comment on art from It’s The Political Economy, Stupid
6.  'Occupy Wall Street’s Anarchist Roots' by David Graeber
7.  'Bodies in Alliance and the Politics of the Street' (excerpts) by Judith Butler
> Thom Donovan comments on art from It’s The Political Economy, Stupid
8.  'Sick Sad Life: On the Artistic Reproduction of Capital' by Kerstin Stakemeier
9.  'Art after Capitalism' a final word by Brian Holmes
Biographies