Enrichment. Product criticism

Enrichissement. Une critique de la marchandise

Translated to Russian by O. Volchek; under scientific editing by S. Fokin. Moscow, Gaidar Institute Press; Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences, SPbSU, 2021. – 600 p. – ("New economic thinking" series). 

ISBN 978-5-93255-603-0 

Luc Boltanski and Arno Esker recreate the transformation of capitalism in Western Europe since the last quarter of the twentieth century, which was marked by deindustrialization and increased exploitation of resources. The scope of this transformation is only revealed when areas that are often considered separately are brought together: the arts, especially plastic arts, culture, the antiques trade, the creation of foundations and museums, the luxury industry, and tourism. They are all based on the exploitation of the past.

This type of economy is called an economy by Boltanski and Esker enrichment. Such an economy is based not so much on the production of new things, but on the extraction of profits from the trade in things that are mainly intended for the rich, which form a source of enrichment for the rich who trade in these things.