{"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 Ben Kafka\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Zone Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/14\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSeries:\u003c\/b\u003e Zone Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 184\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\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781942130352","brand":"Zone Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42714085228681,"sku":"9781942130352","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0636\/9240\/6921\/files\/img_cf0230a3-732f-43a6-92c9-c408ed49bc2b.jpg?v=1719634067","url":"https:\/\/sonsanddaughtersbooks.com\/products\/the-demon-of-writing-powers-and-failures-of-paperwork-9781942130352","provider":"Sons and Daughters Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}