French Literature Reviews - 2026

A. Kluge & J. Vogl, Crédit et Débit
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas

Alexander Kluge & Joseph Vogl, Crédit et Débit

Translated from German by Mathilde Sobottke and Magali Jourdan

Bienne: Diaphanes, coll. "TransPosition", 2013.

EAN 9782889280063.

80 p.

Price 12EUR

Publisher's overview:

German private television channels are hardly renowned for the high intellectual standard of their broadcasts; viewers zapping through channels around midnight are all the more surprised to stumble upon statements like: "Economic superstition is somewhat akin to the spectrum of bourgeois virtues" or "Solutions are always to be found out on the street, in the flow of traffic." There is no doubt: this is one of Alexander Kluge's most remarkable cultural programs—in the truest sense of the word. In Joseph Vogl, Kluge has found an ideal partner for his signature interview technique. The fruit of this shared passion is a series of over 40 televised interviews that profoundly reinvent the genre. Handled with exceptional skill, digression here is never purposeless.

This volume gathers a series of over forty television interviews co-created by filmmaker and author Alexander Kluge alongside literary scholar and cultural theorist Joseph Vogl. Originally broadcast on German private television, these conversations offer a remarkably high intellectual standard, subverting late-night viewing habits by engaging deeply with urgent questions of economics, culture, and society. Through a signature technique that embraces purposeful digression, the authors interrogate the conceptual foundations of modern financial systems and their pervasive influence on contemporary life, bridging the gap between high theory and public media.

Rooted in the traditions of critical theory and German intellectual inquiry, the book serves as a valuable resource for scholars, students, and readers interested in media studies, cultural critique, and the intersections of art and economics. Kluge and Vogl navigate complex intellectual terrain with accessible acuity, making it an essential text for those seeking to understand how contemporary public discourse addresses systemic crisis. The dialogue format allows for dynamic exchanges that illuminate the historical and philosophical dimensions of credit, debt, and the modern capitalist imaginary.