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Journals / Uluslararası Ekonomi İşletme ve Politika Dergisi / 2025 / Cilt: 9 Sayı: 2

The Unconscious of Capitalism: Libidinal Economy, Hedonic Consumption and The Psychoanalytic Management of Desire

Kapitalizmin Bilinçdışı: Libidinal Ekonomi, Hedonik Tüketim ve Arzunun Yönlendirilmesi

İsmet Emir Kudubeş(Bilecik Şeyh Edebali Üniversitesi)0000-0002-3568-5084
Kerim Eser Afşar(DOKUZ EYLÜL ÜNİVERSİTESİ)0000-0002-9853-0186
Pages
517–538
Publication Date
2025-10-06
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

Findings indicate that capitalism systematically produces a sense of dissatisfaction and directs individuals towards constant consumption.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:This study analyses how capitalism directs unconscious processes and examines hedonistic consumption from a Freudian economic perspective.
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Key Findings & Data:Drawing on Freud's pleasure principle, Lacan's theory of desire, Lyotard's concept of libidinal economy, and Žižek's concept of fantasy economy, it investigates how capitalism sustains consumption by manipulating unconscious drives.
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Conclusion & Impact:Findings indicate that capitalism systematically produces a sense of dissatisfaction and directs individuals towards constant consumption.
🔬Design:Araştırma Makalesi
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Freudyen iktisat · hedonik tüketim · libidinal ekonomi

Abstract

This study analyses how capitalism directs unconscious processes and examines hedonistic consumption from a Freudian economic perspective. Drawing on Freud's pleasure principle, Lacan's theory of desire, Lyotard's concept of libidinal economy, and Žižek's concept of fantasy economy, it investigates how capitalism sustains consumption by manipulating unconscious drives. The study argues that consumption is not merely an economic activity but a desire management mechanism governed by unconscious processes. In this context, hedonistic consumption is defined as a form of consumption where individuals not only seek to satisfy their functional needs but also strive to fulfil their unconscious desires and emotional expectations. The libidinal economy, on the other hand, suggests that economic decisions are shaped not only by rational calculations but also by unconscious forces such as desire, pleasure, and instinct. Findings indicate that capitalism systematically produces a sense of dissatisfaction and directs individuals towards constant consumption. Therefore, this study argues that hedonistic consumption should be analysed within the framework of psychoanalytic economics drawing on theoretical inquiry and conceptual analysis based on relevant literature.

Özet

Çalışma, Freudyen ekonomi perspektifinden hedonik tüketimi inceleyerek, kapitalizmin bilinçdışı süreçleri nasıl yönlendirdiğini analiz etmektedir. Freud’un haz ilkesi başta olmak üzere Lacan’ın arzu teorisi, Lyotard’ın libidinal ekonomi anlayışı ve Žižek’in fantezi ekonomisi kavramlarıyla, kapitalizmin tüketimi nasıl sürdürülebilir kıldığı tartışılmaktadır. Çalışma, tüketimin yalnızca ekonomik bir faaliyet değil, bilinçdışı süreçlerin yönlendirdiği bir arzu yönetim mekanizması olduğunu ortaya koymayı amaçlamaktadır. Bu bağlamda ele alınan kavramlardan biri olan hedonik tüketim, bireyin yalnızca işlevsel ihtiyaçlarını karşılamakla kalmayıp, bilinçdışı arzularını ve duygusal tatmin beklentilerini gidermek amacıyla gerçekleştirdiği tüketim biçimi olarak tanımlanmaktadır. Libidinal ekonomi ise, insanların ekonomik kararlarının sadece rasyonel hesaplara dayanmadığını, arzu, haz, dürtü gibi bilinçdışı unsurlar tarafından da yönlendirildiğini savunmaktadır. Elde edilen sonuçlar, kapitalizmin tatminsizlik duygusunu yeniden üreterek bireyleri sürekli tüketmeye yönlendirdiğini göstermektedir. Bu bağlamda, hedonik tüketimin psikanalitik ekonomi çerçevesinde ele alınması gerektiği savunulmaktadır. Çalışma, teorik çözümleme yöntemiyle psikanalitik ekonomi literatürü üzerinden metin ve kavramsal çerçeve analizi sunmaktadır.

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Cite This Article

Kudubeş, İ. E., Afşar, K. E. (2025). The Unconscious of Capitalism: Libidinal Economy, Hedonic Consumption and The Psychoanalytic Management of Desire. Uluslararası Ekonomi İşletme ve Politika Dergisi, Cilt: 9 Sayı: 2, 517–538. https://doi.org/10.29216/ueip.1645925

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