It is commonly assumed that capitalism has created an a-emotional world dominated by bureaucratic rationality; that economic behavior conflicts with intimate, authentic relationships; that the public and private spheres are irremediably opposed to each other; and that true love is opposed to calculation and self-interest. Eva Illouz rejects these conventional ideas and argues that the culture of capitalism has fostered an intensely emotional culture in the workplace, in the family, and in our own relationship to ourselves. She argues that economic relations have become deeply emotional, while close, intimate relationships have become increasingly defined by economic and political models of bargaining, exchange, and equity. This dual process by which emotional and economic relationships come to define and shape each other is called emotional capitalism. Illouz finds evidence of this process of emotional capitalism in various social sites: self-help literature, women's magazines, talk shows, support groups, and the Internet dating sites. How did this happen? What are the social consequences of the current preoccupation with emotions? How did the public sphere become saturated with the exposure of private life? Why does suffering occupy a central place in contemporary identity? How has emotional capitalism transformed our romantic choices and experiences? Building on and revising the intellectual legacy of critical theory, this book addresses these questions and offers a new interpretation of the reasons why the public and the private, the economic and the emotional spheres have become inextricably intertwined.

“追问一个人的情感是否发自内心，即情感的真与伪，这种提问本身没有什么意义，因为所有成年人的情感体验其实都是被训练的结果。”
一个人内心的情感体验，是某种关系的体现。无论是个人、团体还是阶层的情感表达，都无法忽视社会情感准则的教化训练。本书作为情感史研究的奠基之作，提出了情感表达、情感体制、情感导航、情感自由、情感痛苦等理论，并以“情感主义”为切入点，研究启蒙时代及法国大革命时期人们情感表达方式的变化及其意义。沙龙、共济会、咖啡馆等情感避难所的出现，是人们避免情感痛苦、追求情感自由的表现。人们在日记、通信、演讲中表露出对情感自由的向往，报纸刊物以及私人发行的小册子也在这方面发挥了引领作用。呼吁情感真挚、拒绝伪善成为人们在情感表达方面的基本要求。这种情感表达方式并不仅限于小说、戏剧等文学创作，而是成为一种社会行为规范，上升为一种政治上的“美德”。
由此，雷迪清晰勾勒出情感与认知、情感与理性、情感表达与文化之间的关系，在“硬邦邦”的“理性”材料之外，强调“情感有自身的历史”，使情感成为历史学的合理研究面向，为情感史的发展提供了坚实的理论支撑。
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专家推荐：
雷迪通过提出问题，提供一些关于集体情感变化及其限制的答案，开启了情感研究跨学科领域的新阶段。—— 《美国社会学杂志》
这是一项不同寻常的工作，既刺激又富有成效....雷迪的直觉是，情感不应该简单地从“思想”中区分出来，这种直觉发展得非常出色……我相信这本书将成为任何关于自我和情感的人类学中的必读书目。——纽约大学弗雷德·迈尔斯
这是一本深刻的学术著作，将成为快速发展的跨学科情感研究的核心。雷迪在心理学、人类学和历史学之间架起了桥梁，探讨了情感是管理与人类最亲密的关系的过程这一迷人的观点。
——基思·奥克利，多伦多大学教授，认知心理学家，小说家

From the rise of terrorism to the uncertainties associated with economic crisis and recession, our age is characterized by fear. Fear is the expression of a society on unstable foundations. Most of us feel that our social status is under threat and our future prospects in jeopardy. We are overwhelmed by a sense of having been catapulted into a world to which we no longer belong.
Tracing this experience of fear, Heinz Bude uncovers a society marked by disturbing uncertainty, suppressed anger and quiet resentment. This is as true in our close relationships as it is in the world of work, in how we react to politicians as much as in our attitudes towards bankers and others in the financial sector. Bude shows how this fear is not derived so much from a 'powerful other' but rather from the seemingly endless range of possibilities which we face. While this may seem to offer us greater autonomy and freedom, in reality the unknown impact and meaning of each option creates a vacuum which is filled by fear.
What conditions lead people to feel anxious and fearful for themselves and others? How can individuals withstand fear and develop ways of making their fears intelligible? Probing these and other questions, Bude provides a fresh analysis of some of the most fundamental features of our societies today.