Philosophy Show, Episode 2

(freely adapted from Butler and Laurie Penny, unfreely adapted from Marx and Lacan)

The currency of the capitalist love order is desire. As much as money, desire never is distributed evenly – a one-sided accumulation of libidinal wealth takes place, whereas on the other side alienated relationship work is done, whose added value is being skimmed from the opponent. While this one-sided libido accumulation initially seems to lead to an increase of erotic productivity, sooner or later the law of the tendency of the profit rate to fall will apply: desire dries up, the relationship workers have depleted their eros, the libido owners start recruiting among the youth. Does the production of desire always lead to alienation and exploitation? Do we need a libido revolution? Are there communist forms of desire, in which desire is not a commodity and in which relationship work is not being exploited?

Lovers of all Countries, unite!

"In late capitalism every female sexuality is work." (Laurie Penny)

Golem, Hamburg. http://golem.kr/?p=1848

back