The Contingent Foundations of Universality in Control Societies: Spiritual Fetishism and the Autoimmune Logic of Capital
Autoimmune Capital and the Logic of Self-Undermining
Transposed from immunology, Jacques Derrida’s concept of “autoimmunity” captures the paradox wherein a system attacks the very conditions of its own survival.
Late capitalism exhibits precisely this self-undermining dynamic: the intensification of extraction leads to ecological disasters, financialization spawns economic meltdowns, and the relentless push for productivity fuels mental health epidemics. Yet these catastrophes do not herald capitalism’s collapse. Instead, as Mark Fisher argues in Capitalist Realism, each crisis amplifies the sense that no viable alternative exists, ironically reinforcing capitalism’s hegemonic claim to inevitability.
Crucially, crises form the engine of late capitalist reinvention. The 2008 financial crisis catalyzed new financial instruments and further consolidation of power among top institutions. Ecological breakdowns spur expansions in “green capitalism,” carbon trading schemes, and corporate-led conservation efforts. Even the privatization of mental health solutions (e.g., therapy apps, pharmaceutical interventions) recojminfigures crises of subjectivity as markets for digital platforms and venture capital. In each case, the autoimmune function is cyclical: capitalism “destroys” aspects of its host environment only to commodify the wreckage, forging additional pathways for growth.