Undead Labor

Capitalism's Zombie Worker

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by David Bering-Porter

Type

Essays

Subject

Sociology

Keywords

zombies, sociology, politics

Publishing date

2026 (November 10, 2026)

Publisher

University of Minnesota Press

Language

English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Hardcover • 256 pages
5 ½ x 8 ½ inches (14 x 21.5 cm)

ISBN

978-1-5179-1784-5

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Book Presentation:
How the zombie represents capitalism’s fantasy of limitless labor

Much more than just an enduring figure of horror entertainment, the zombie is a uniquely modern symbol representing capitalism’s most brutal demands on human life. Examining the push to extract surplus value from human bodies in ways that exceed their natural limits, David Bering-Porter shows how this notion of the undead is both integral to and symptomatic of capitalism’s endless cycle of growth and consumption.

Bering-Porter demonstrates how the zombie has long been deeply intertwined with issues of race and exploitation, from its origins in the slave plantations of colonial Haiti to its traces in the continuing evolution of artificial intelligence systems, serving as capitalism’s ideal worker: one that never rests, never stops, and never dies. Featuring close readings of Marx alongside films such as I Walked with a Zombie, The Blob, and Night of the Living Dead, the book traces the concept of undead labor as it manifests across various historical epochs, providing insight into the manifold ways that capitalism has sought to transform living beings into instruments of limitless production.

As he weaves together critical race studies with an analysis of popular culture and media, Bering-Porter interrogates racialized capitalism and its fantasy of labor beyond all limits. By highlighting how the zombie is borne of the same ideology that has given rise to contemporary burnout culture and environmental collapse, Undead Labor uncovers the capitalist system’s relentless death drive with the hope that it finally may be put to rest.

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About the Author:
David Bering-Porter is associate professor of culture and media in the Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts at The New School.

Press Reviews:
"Undead Labor compellingly showcases the continuities and shifts in the ‘can’t stop, won’t stop’ logics of capitalism's exploitation of labor past the point of death itself. David Bering-Porter’s insistence on the importance of centering culture as a site through which the fantasies and contradictions of racial capitalism play out is critical." ―Neda Atanasoski, author of Surrogate Humanity: Race, Robots, and the Politics of Technological Future

"Highly original and capacious in its scholarship, Undead Labor insists upon the essential place of the zombie at the center of our understanding of human subjectivity and life under capitalism today. With ethical urgency and lucid, engaging writing, David Bering-Porter successfully shows how the figure develops from its roots in chattel slavery and the plantation." ―Alanna Thain, author of Bodies in Suspense: Time and Affect in Cinema

See the publisher website: University of Minnesota Press