Introduction

In this chapter, the authors examine various economic crises and the language(s) they produce. They explore the ways in which various subjects narrate crises, use metaphors to describe crises, arm a language of response and resistance to the perceived causes of crises, and develop languages of rebirth and new dreams of other possible futures. The correlation between language, consciousness, and experience has formed an important dimension of economic history in the era of capitalism. The construction of and engagement with social problems are also inherently issues of narration. The analysis of economic crises, therefore, is particularly interesting, as it runs the risk of being recuperated by a capitalo-centric analysis which shows that crisis is simply an aberration of the dominant, stable and organic economy. Indeed, in all three of these contributions to the special issue that deal with speaking otherwise, there is a serious focus on reclaiming ‘common sense.