Trade Fetishism

Trade Fetishism argues that “trade” not only meets material goals, but also simultaneously works as a fantasy that seeks to satisfy and soothe our unconscious desires and anxieties. Countering the idea that trade is driven ultimately by rational economic, political, and strategic logics, it argues that non-rational beliefs and unconscious desires are equally motivating in our obsession with trade and its promises of enjoyment.

Reassessing trade and trade politics, Fridell and Clark make a distinct contribution through systematic case studies that explore trade agreements in North America, between Europe and the Caribbean, and at the World Trade Organization. Drawing on case study research on specific trade agreements and trade justice movements, and engaging with a wide range of thinking about trade - from neoclassical economics and international law, to Marxist, feminist, postmodern, and other critical approaches – the book contends that trade and trade agreements are increasingly “fetishized”: offered up as near-magical objects that meet our desires, soothe our anxieties, and offer simple solutions to complex problems, even if they perpetually disappoint.

An exploration of the desires and anxieties embedded in the widespread and enduring faith in global trade and free trade - a faith that persists despite abundant contradictions, gaps, and injustices – Trade Fetishism will appeal to scholars of sociology, social and political theory, and economics with interest in international trade and political economy.