Fotograf Magazine

It is not at all surprising that the history of photography is connected with the history of capitalism, but it can be more difficult to capture how and why this is the case. Among other things, this anthology of texts published by Verso is valuable because it is based on a meeting of leading theorists of photography and theorists of capitalism. From the perspective of these various disciplines, the authors look critically in their essays at the role of photography in the circulation, distribution and accumulation of capital. But they also examine the function of photography within the critique of capitalism: “photography, with all its limitations and in its many varieties, can critically engage capitalism, enabling us to grapple with the political and economic structures of our era and to imagine new ones.”