This paper focuses on Bataille's elaboration of an 'economic' conception of the 'sacred' and considers the extent to which it is vulnerable to the charge of 'romantic anti-capitalism'. Aspects of the thought of Deleuze and Guattari on the nature of 'late capitalism' are evoked with a view to supporting the paper's hypothesis that a synthesis of Bataille's conception of the 'sacred' and Deleuze's and Guattari's insights into the nature of capital provides a powerful theoretical outlook at once en…
Read moreThis paper focuses on Bataille's elaboration of an 'economic' conception of the 'sacred' and considers the extent to which it is vulnerable to the charge of 'romantic anti-capitalism'. Aspects of the thought of Deleuze and Guattari on the nature of 'late capitalism' are evoked with a view to supporting the paper's hypothesis that a synthesis of Bataille's conception of the 'sacred' and Deleuze's and Guattari's insights into the nature of capital provides a powerful theoretical outlook at once enticing and disturbing - the sacredness of 'late capital'. What this entails as regards both the attainment of the non-anthropomorphic nature of religion and contemporary political critique is considered.
