The Accursed Share

An interesting and influential work of philosophy, history, and economics. He focuses a broad discussion of “general economy” on the aspect of expenditure, which he argues is a key aspect ignored for too long in favor of the theoretical concern over production. Expenditure and loss of the surplus of energy and production is the de facto state of the natural systems which form the base of economic activity, and this situation carries to some degree all the way up to human civilization. Bataille points out in repeated historical and anthropological examples, quite a bit of human culture, historically speaking, was centered around providing meaning and social value to this expenditure of surplus, and only recently have the value systems which favor the attempt to preserve surplus for future use become the standard for humanity.

Bataille is an artful writer even when dealing with relatively dry matters, and although it can be difficult at times to discern exactly what he means, the poetic quality of how he states things cannot be denied. Well worth reading and doing so surely puts one in a position to better appreciate Bataille's influence on later theorists and philosophers.