Banking on Words: The Failure of Language in the Age of Derivative Finance Book PDF, ePub eBook

Arjun Appadurai

Banking on Words: The Failure of Language in the Age of Derivative Finance.pdf

File Name: Banking on Words: The Failure of Language in the Age of Derivative Finance.pdf
Size: 10.6 MB
Uploaded: 2017-04-28 07:15:32

Status: AVAILABLE Last checked: 22 Minutes ago!

Rating: ★★★★★ 93 out of 100 based on 8605 user

Join our eBook service for unlimited books & audiobooks. Get a free 7 day subscription! ↓↓↓↓↓

Book Descriptions:

In this provocative look at one of the most important events of our time, renowned scholar Arjun Appadurai argues that the economic collapse of 2008—while indeed spurred on by greed, ignorance, weak regulation, and irresponsible risk-taking—was, ultimately, a failure of language. To prove this sophisticated point, he takes us into the world of derivative finance, which has become the core of contemporary trading and the primary target of blame for the collapse and all our subsequent woes. With incisive argumentation, he analyzes this challengingly technical world, drawing on thinkers such as J. L. Austin, Marcel Mauss, and Max Weber as theoretical guides to showcase the ways language—and particular failures in it—paved the way for ruin.

Appadurai moves in four steps through his analysis. In the first, he highlights the importance of derivatives in contemporary finance, isolating them as the core technical innovation that markets have produced. In the second, he shows that derivatives are essentially written contracts about the future prices of assets—they are, crucially, a promise. Drawing on Mauss’s The Gift and Austin’s theories on linguistic performatives, Appadurai, in his third step, shows how the derivative exploits the linguistic power of the promise through the special form that money takes in finance as the most abstract form of commodity value. Finally, he pinpoints one crucial feature of derivatives (as seen in the housing market especially): that they can make promises that other promises will be broken. He then details how this feature spread contagiously through the market, snowballing into the systemic liquidity crisis that we are all too familiar with now.

With his characteristic clarity, Appadurai explains one of the most complicated—and yet absolutely central—aspects of our modern economy. He makes the critical link we have long needed to make: between the numerical force of money and the linguistic force of what we say we will do with it.

Banking on Words: The Failure of Language in the Age of Derivative Finance by Arjun Appadurai

From reader reviews:

Candice Delgado:

In this 21st centuries, people become competitive in every way. By being competitive right now, people have do something to make all of them survives, being in the middle of the actual crowded place and notice by surrounding. One thing that oftentimes many people have underestimated that for a while is reading. That's why, by reading a book your ability to survive improve then having chance to stay than other is high. For yourself who want to start reading some sort of book, we give you this specific Banking on Words: The Failure of Language in the Age of Derivative Finance book as beginner and daily reading book. Why, because this book is more than just a book.

Connie Deroche:

Reading a book can be one of a lot of exercise that everyone in the world really likes. Do you like reading book thus. There are a lot of reasons why people enjoyed. First reading a publication will give you a lot of new info. When you read a e-book you will get new information because book is one of many ways to share the information or even their idea. Second, studying a book will make anyone more imaginative. When you looking at a book especially fiction book the author will bring that you imagine the story how the character types do it anything. Third, you are able to share your knowledge to other people. When you read this Banking on Words: The Failure of Language in the Age of Derivative Finance, you could tells your family, friends along with soon about yours book. Your knowledge can inspire the mediocre, make them reading a publication.

Karen Schanz:

You can get this Banking on Words: The Failure of Language in the Age of Derivative Finance by go to the bookstore or Mall. Merely viewing or reviewing it might to be your solve problem if you get difficulties on your knowledge. Kinds of this e-book are various. Not only by means of written or printed but in addition can you enjoy this book by means of e-book. In the modern era just like now, you just looking from your mobile phone and searching what your problem. Right now, choose your personal ways to get more information about your guide. It is most important to arrange yourself to make your knowledge are still update. Let's try to choose right ways for you.

Travis Smith:

A lot of people said that they feel uninterested when they reading a publication. They are directly felt it when they get a half portions of the book. You can choose often the book Banking on Words: The Failure of Language in the Age of Derivative Finance to make your current reading is interesting. Your skill of reading skill is developing when you like reading. Try to choose basic book to make you enjoy to learn it and mingle the impression about book and reading through especially. It is to be initially opinion for you to like to available a book and go through it. Beside that the publication Banking on Words: The Failure of Language in the Age of Derivative Finance can to be your new friend when you're feel alone and confuse in what must you're doing of that time.

How it works:

1. Register a free 1 month Trial Account.
2. Download as many books as you like (Personal use)
3. Cancel the membership at any time if not satisfied.