Available in English, Danish, German, French and Spanish, and forthcoming in Arabic, Slovene and traditional Chinese in 2026.
“Søren Mau writes about the “mute compulsion” of capitalism: you gotta play the game or else you don’t eat” – Timothy Faust, Rolling Stone
“An instant classic. The best introduction to Marx’s thought in any language.” – Aaron Benanav
“A big red book to cherish.” – Andreas Malm
“A tour de force through some of the key Marxist concepts and debates” – Sara R. Farris
“I am confident that we will be grappling with and building on Mau’s contribution for years to come” – William Clare Roberts, Jacobin Magazine
“A unique and relatable entry into the social and economic dimensions of modern Marxist thought” – Matt McManus, The Nation
Reviews:
Mute Compulsion
The Nation: An Introduction to Marxism Unlike Any Other
Parapraxis: Boisterous Demands
Jacobin Magazine: Under Capitalism, We’re All Dominated by the Invisible Threads of the Market (Spanish translation: Los hilos invisibles del capital)
Jacobin Latin America: La lógica del capital y su crisis
Legal Form: Review Essay: Economic Power, Liberalism, and Crisis
Counseling Communism: Politicizing the Value-Form: Some notes on Mute Compulsion
Sin Permiso: Los hilos invisibles del capital
Marx and Philosophy Review of Books
Counterpunch: How Does an Economic System so Hostile to Life Endure for Centuries?
a single hail from below: The Roaring Silence
Antipode: A Radical Journal of Geography
Unemployed Negativity: Between Micro-Politics and Mute Compulsion: Reflections on a Problem
Revolutionary Socialism in the 21st Century
Splinter Mag: Toward a Dialectical Humanism: A Critique of Soren Mau’s Mute Compulsion
Sinistrainrete: La silenziosa coazione verso il baratro
Il manifesto: Il vero dominio non è mai astratto
Slobodni Filozofski: Nevidljivi aspekt moći: nijema prinuda proizvodnih odnosa
Spectre Journal: Abstract Models, Concrete Frictions
Stummer Zwang
OXI – Wirtschaft Anders Denken: Neues zu Marx
Parlamentsreport, DIE LINKE: Rezension: Ein dritter Typus von Macht
EXIT!: Der gewöhnliche Gang der Dinge aus dem Schlupfloch. Eine Lektüre der theoretischen Grundannahmen von Sören Maus “Stummer Zwang” (French translation in Juggernaut #4)
kritisch-lesen.de: ‘Die Schublade der ökonomischen Macht aufräumen‘
LabourNet Germany: ‘Stummer Zwang. Eine marxistische Analyse der ökonomischen Macht im Kapitalismus‘
junge Welt: ‘Unter dem Wertgesetz‘
Zeitschrift Marxistische Erneuerung: ‘Machttheoretische Zugeständnisse‘
Soziopolis: ‘Abstrakte Herrschaft, konkreter Zwang‘ (expanded version available here)
socialnet.de: ‘Søren Mau: Stummer Zwang‘
Feine Welt: ‘Macht im Kapitalismus‘
Express: ‘Besiegelte Herrschaft‘
Danish Yearbook of Philosophy: Review
Stum tvang
Politiken: Ingen pisker os, og alligevel arbejder vi og lader os stadig udnytte.
Information: Søren Maus bog er et nybrud i en debat, som økonomer og livsstilseksperter har domineret alt for længe.
Solidaritet: ‘Stum tvang’ forklarer Marx’ idéer – og gør ham spiselig til aftenkaffen.
Weekendavisen: ‘Dét, Marx mener, er…‘
Information: ‘Søren Maus marxistiske analyse af økonomisk magt rejser vigtige spørgsmål, men giver mangelfulde svar‘
Eftertryk: ‘Søren Maus uomgængelige kapitalismekritik‘
Social Kritik: ‘Penge lugter ikke‘
Arbejderen: ‘På sporet af kapitalens magt”
Morgenbladet: ‘Sjeføkonomens mareritt: Kan Søren Maus bok føre Marx tilbake på moten?‘
Solidaritet: ‘Stum Tvang og kapitalens politiske økonomi‘
Ny tid: ‘Magtens jerngreb om befolkningen‘
Clarté: ‘Mere vending end Marx‘
Solidaritet: ‘Mau og Marx’
Agora: “Vi har ikke forlatt Feuerbach et sekund“
Flamman: ‘Marknaden som tvångsmekanism‘
Site Zones: Abstraktionernas tysta herravälde
Gnist: Tilbake til Marx
Nordic Welfare Research: Capitalism Without an Alternative
Søren Mau 