The Strange Absence of Capital(ism)

Abstract

Although Yugoslav society was open to Western phenomena such as consumerism and popular culture, Yugoslav philosophy—more precisely, its Marxist thought—paid scant attention to what was unfolding within capitalism. It had other priorities. In this chapter, Grgas argues that Yugoslavia’s hybrid position did not produce an outpouring of the conceptualizations of capital(ism). One of the rare exceptions to this rule is the work of the philosopher Vanja Sutlić (1925–1989). Grgas analyzes his most important book and shows the ways in which Sutlić philosophized Marx and how, in doing so, he provided a philosophically-informed thinking about capital. After a perusal of Sutlić’s text, Grgas explores the ways this work registered on the cultural scene and how the ensuing discussions opened up questions of revolutionary agency and of capital itself.