under capitalism, for example, pre-existing norms and cultures are often transformed, rather than simply swept away. such transformation, neither at the behest nor for the benefit of those at its sharp end, is profound, and a matter of constant upheaval. it is no wonder that modern life is rubbish, generative of anxiety, deracination, a deep psychic as well as economic instability, not to say disempowerment and death, for millions. 

china miéville, a spectre haunting