Speculative Bubbles: Mass Behavior and Automatism in the Financial Markets

The essay criticizes the presuppositions of neoclassical economic theory, that is rational and autonomous individualism and the self-regulation of markets, on which the claim of the neoliberal socio-political model rests. Through the analysis of speculative bubbles, the mimetic and emotional dimension of the formation of beliefs/conventions emerges around which 'crowds' and herd behavior are formed. The essay's thesis is that these de-individualization processes are amplified by the macroeconomic process of autonomization of the financial markets.