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Bernard Stiegler - For A New Critique of Political Economy-Polity (2010) PDF
Bernard Stiegler - For A New Critique of Political Economy-Polity (2010) PDF
Bernard Stiegler - For A New Critique of Political Economy-Polity (2010) PDF
-Critique
f ;: .f
Politi I
-
no my_
Bernard Stiegler
For a New Critique of
Political Economy
BERNARD STIEGLER
translllttd by
Daniel Ross
polity
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CONTENTS
Nom 130
IllIux 143
For a New Critique of Political
Economy
3
f O R A NEW C R I T IQUE
4
Ht'ads bUTi,.d in II" sand: II wllmillg
5
FOR A NEW CRIT1QUE
6
Hmds buried ill tl;r sand: a wamillg
7
<TWO
Introduction
RetentionaL economy
8
ImToduCliolf
9
F O R A NEW CRITIQUE
I
of teniary reremion systems which consritme increasingly
analytical recordings of prim ry and secondary reten·
�
tional Aows or Auxes (/IIIXI-slI Ch � systems of writing
and numeration. It is in thi� w ir that .logos is constituted:
as the discretization of the continuous Aow of language
which, spatialized, can rhen be considered analytically,
which then enters ilHo.its diacritical era, and this is the
point from which. fundamentally and specifically, log!c
proceeds. But this discretization of flows also affects
gestures. The discretization of gesture was given concrete
expression with the application of Jacques de Vaucanson's
automation technology to the Jacquard loom, and became
generalized in the form of (he industrial revolution.
Gesture must here be com:idcred (like speech) as a
rerentional 80w, iliar is, as a cOlll;nuozu chain kncbabu·
mm:] of gestures, and the learning [apprmtHi agt'J of a
craft consists in producing gestural secondary reren·
tions, whereas the discretization and the spatialized
reproduction of the time of gestures constitutes techni·
cal automation, but where it is no longer the logos of
the souL but rather the gestures of the body that become
analytically rt'prodllcibit' as tertiary ret�ntion. This rero
dudbiliry resultS in (cremional grains that one can call
gramnlt'S. And this is why we posit chat the evolmion of
terriary retemion, from the Neolithic age until our own,
constitutes a process of grammati7.arion.
10
Introduction
12
/mrotiucrioIJ
•
the qJINtioll of tlJl' prolrtorint, of the unde.rsranding
and extension of this concept, of its uses and misuses
in the. Marxist tradition, of its being forgonen, and of
its imml'lur imponallcl' today.
• the qu�rioll ofilldustry and irs inscription in human
becoming. considered from the perspective of
grammatizarion;
• the QlltJt;Oll of I'xurfla/itit's, such as these arc inces·
sandy reconfigured in the course of the: process
of industriali7.ation. insofar as industrialization is a
process of grammatizadon, and in ,heir rdarion to
tr.msindividuation. tbat is, to (011mll'rcr,
• the: qucstipn of social cltum in the: framework of a
13
TH REE
Pharmacology of the
proletariat
14
Phl1.rmnco/.Qg offh� pro/�fllriflt
15
FOR A NEW CRITIQUE
16
PI}(lrmnco/ogy oft/� protrffln'af
l"dllltdatiJ.J
There was also, however. another rcason for spc:a.k.
17
FOR A N E W C R I T I Q U E
18
Pbammcolog;y ofthe proletariat
19
FOR" N E W CRITIQUE
20
Pharmacology ofth� proletariat
21
FOR A NEW CRITIQUE
22
PbflmlllCO/ogy oft/u pro/etflriat
23
F O R A NEW CRITIQUE
24
Pb"rmncolog, oftb� pro /�tarint
25
FOR A NEW CRITIQUE
And especially:
cooked meat eaten with fork and knife differs from hunger
26
PlJarmaco/lJi:f ofIIJ� pro/�/arinJ
27
F O R A NEW CRIT1 QUE
28
Pharmac%t;Y oflh� p/'o/�larial
29
!' O R A N E W C R I T I Q U E
30
Pharnlilcolot:J O/I/)(, prol(,lflrial
31
fOR II NEW CRITIQUE
32
PlllfnlllolC ioK'l of,hI' prolt!,,,ritrr
33
FOR A N E W CRtTiQUE
34
Pb,m11llColoD oftb� proluariat
35
F O R A N E W CRI1'IQU£
36
Phnmmc%D ofrh� pro/�tflrifll
37
FOR A N E W C R I T I Q U E
38
Pharmacology ofth� pro/�tariat
39
FOR A N E W CRITIQUE
40
PbannacollJgy oftb� pro/�rnrillf
41
F O R A N E W CRITIQUE
42
Pbllnllllc%D oftb, pro/t!tnn'(u
43
FOil A N E W CIlITIQUE
44
fQUIl.
To work
45
F O R A N E W C R IT I Q U E
46
To work
47
fOR A N E W C R I T I QUE
48
To work
well.
Th� associated sociorechnological milieu allows
struggles to be waged against Ihl'Sc environmental
destructions brought about by the "vcclOrialim" and
49
f O R II NEW C R I T I Q U E
politically.
50
To //Jork
51
fOR A NEW C R I T I Q U E
52
To work
53
FOR A NEW CRITIQUE
54
To work
tcmpor.llities� 16
56
To work
57
fOR A NEW CRITIQUE
58
To work
59
FOR It. N EW C R I T I Q U E
GO
To /VorN
61
F O il A NEW CRITIQUE
62
To work
63
F O N. A N E W C R I T I Q U E
64
To 1IJ0rk
65
fOR A NEW CRITIQUE
66
To work
67
fOR " NEW CRITIQUE
68
To wDrk
69
FOR A NEW CRITIQUE
70
Pharmacology of Capital and
Economy of Contribution
ForJ�an.Micbt'1 Snlllll:Jlds
To the nJtll/ory ofJI'IIII-Frallfois Ly()((//'d
Look, look
Fragr:
l lu wilh clover and ancmesia
Morerl l'nmSl
On January 25, 2007, while participating in a
colloquium devoted to the work of Jcan-Fran�ois
Lyotard. I proposed a reading of Tht PosN1lOdml
COlldition which characterized those traits of capitalism
d�scrihcd by Lyorard as typifYing:! new form of libidinal
�conomy: that form invented by consumerist capital
ism in North America at the bcginning of th� rwenricrh
CCtlnlry.
According to [his reading, posrmoderniry resulted
from a consumerist organizadon of the libido leading
evenrually [0 me liquidation of the libido itself, to its
"diseconomy," that is. to the liquidation of that libidi
nal economy which modernity hitheno constitured-a
process of liquidadon the consequences of which began
ro appear at the end of the 1 970s (fA <o"dirioll post
modtmt being published at the moment Margaret
Thatcher gained power in Great Britain. constitUling
thc beginning of the "conservative revolurion").
In the course of my reading, I tried to show why
the concepn enabling the thinking of this rOllfl/lIItri!f
73
FOR A NEW C R I T I Q U E
74
Phnrll/tIl'ology ofCapital
75
II O R A N E W C R I T I Q U E
76
Phannacology ofCnpital
77
FOR A NEW CRITIQUE
78
Pharmacology of Capitfll
79
F O R A NEW CRITIQUE
80
Pbllnllncolog;j ofCnpitnl
81
POR A NEW CRITIQUE
82
PIJanna�o/0t:1 olu/pita/
83
FOR A N EW C R I T I Q U E
Economy ofprottntio1lS
84
Pharmacology ofCapillI!
85
FOR It. NEW CRITIQUE
86
PlmmulCology O/Cllpitll/
87
FOR A NEW CRITIQUE
88
PhamllU'ology olCnpiral
89
fOR A N E W C R I T I Q U E
90
Phannacology ofCapital
91
fOR A NEW CRITIQUE
92
Phnm/(lCology ofCnpitnl
93
F O R A NEW CRITIQUE
94
Phannacology o/Capital
95
fOR A N E W CRITIQUE
96
Phnnnncology o/Capital
97
F O R A N E W CRITIQUE
98
Phllrmacology olGllpiclli
99
F O R A I"'EW C R I T I Q U E
100
Phannacology ofCapital
101
fOR A N E W CRITIQUE
102
Pharmacology ofCapita!
103
FOR " N E W CRITIQUE
104
Phllnnllcolog)' o/Capillll
105
fOR A NEW CRITIQUE
lOG
Pbannacology o/Capital
107
FOR A N E W CRITIQUE
108
Pblll'1nttcology ofCllpitlll
109
P O R A N E W CRITIQUE
110
P"nnllncolo� ofCapital
111
FOR A N E W C R I T I Q U E
animals. but also as rhe bearer of the objecrs and the ideas
112
Pbarmacology a/CapitaL
disadjustment.
The societies of which Gille speaks arc no longer
ethnic and tribal groups: they are much larger social
groups (empires, politically and economically organ
ized and hierarchi7.ed cities, churches, nations, etc.), the
social srructures of which are profoundly distant from
those of ethnic groups, as well as being divided and
113
FOR A NEW CRITIQUE
1 14
Pbamlac% D OfCapitaL
115
FOR A NEW CRITIQUE
1 16
Pharmacology ofCnpira!
1 17
FOR A NEW CRITIQUE
118
Phllmlacology ofCilpitill
It s
i through these arrangements of multilayered ten
dencies that transindividuarion processes are woven.
Each of (he social systems is itself constituted by specific
tendencies which instantiate the dynamics of synchro
nization and diachronizacion, and which form irs own
circuits of rransinclividuarion.
Nevertheless, with each new stage of grammari
zarion, new synchronization processes, that is, new
regimes of mera5cabilizacion, are enabled. Bur begin
ning with that grammatization process which enabled
the discretization of corporeal Rows, in turn enabling
their calculation via machine tools and the appara
tus of production, management and conception, and
eventually via the psychorechnologies orchestrating con
sumption (making it possible to calculate the flux of
consciousness-"available brain-time"), the economic
system rakes a step beyond all the other social systems
by taking control of the technical system itself-that
is. by controlling which possibilities are selected from
amongst all those constituting the protenrional fields
1 19
fOR It. NEW CRITIQUE
120
PbnmlflCO/ogy ofCnpitnl
121
F O R II N E W C R I T I Q U E
122
Pharmacology ofCnpila/
123
FOR A N E W C R I T I Q U E
1 24
Pharmacology oJCnpifl11
1 25
FOR A N E W C R I T I Q U E
126
Phannacology oJCapital
127
FOR A NEW CRITIQUE
128
Phal71l1tc% gy oJCapitflL
129
NOTES
Imrodllrtio"
", I Th� COnctpfli are dcvclo� in La T«Imiqut tt It Ttlllps 3:
Lt temps du rillima tt'" qumion till mnl-ftrt (Paris: Galilee,
2001). A summary an be found in PIJiIOJop/�r pnr ltrridtnl,
with Elic: During {Paris: Galil�c, 2004}, pp. 74ff.
2 LA 7«hniqllt tt It Tt",ps 3.
130
Notu to png�s 20-22
131
N O T E S TO P A G E S 2 2- 3 3
132
Notes to pllges 34-4J
133
NOTES TO PAGES 4 1 -4 6
socia-linguistic individuation.
35 MiaUna tt tlismdit /, p. 76 and p. 88,
36 One sJ'Ife:&ks of"dis«onomy� in orde.r to qualify the datruc
riVfe dynamic broughr :about by n�ative. externalities. rhal
is. by �nvironmental disorde.rt wh� com a� 001 paid by
e.conomic aCtort but .....hich m:ven:hdess fragiliu the gener:tl
economy.
37 lhest: social ne.fWorks b.ued on the web 2.0 are produced by
social e.ngincering and by dc:vdopmems in what is called rhe.
soci:al web, lh� most famous inu:lna of which is Faabook,
which in Augwt 2008 passed 160 million members. lhe.rc
arc. howc:ver, all sorlS of Olh�r dimensions to these digilal
"relational I«hnologks." '{be second of the EnlmitM till
nouwllu mot"u indlUm'tl, organized by up Diplill, tht: &oIt
IUpiriturt tit rrtlltion intlustritllt, and the Pompidou O:mcr'J
Institllt tit rrrhtrrbt It tI';nnl1lMtion, will be on this subject.
forthcoming from Mille el une nuits.
38 Scve.r:tI studies have highlighted this, one in panic·
ular devoted 10 the �ffcru of television and DVD on
children under Ihr� years of�I a study headed by Frcdttic
Zimmerman and Dimitri ChriscOOs ar rhe Universiry of
Washington. On this subject. sec Sriegler, TIlIt;"K (Art tlf
YtI.II,h Ilnti ,ht Grnmllions, 1r:IIU. Srcphrn Barker (SWlford:
Sianford Univcrsiry Press, 2010). p. 56.
To work
I Maurizio W.urato shows very wdl how Ihis tli",imuion of
,lit ,Imt tlfltflflwlrJgt COnsrilUICS Ihe very heart of Iht' project
of a "governmellf of incqualick!; in which ncolibcnlism
134
Nota to p/Zgn 4�50
1 35
N O T E S TO I' A G E S $ 0 - 6 0
136
Notts to pltg�J 61-67
1 37
NOTES TO .. ... CES 67-8 J
"'&
:3 This confcrcnce is ueee.uible :u: hnp:llwww.:usindumi:alis.
orglpour-une-�cunom ic-dc-la-u)nrribul ion-]
4 S« pp. 66 and 84.
5 In the sen.sc in which I take this term, 5« p. 29ff.
6 The tc:ndency officlilious capital is always 10 reduce the rules
to a minimum, if not 10 diminatc them :llmgcther. in order,
as frequently :u possible, m unleash power.
7 Stt p . 4 1 .
8 I first approacbcd this theme of";,,(1Irit, i n the fif'lt instance
�
138
Nola 10 paga 83-85
139
N O T E S TO P A G E S 8 6 - 1 08
140
Nom to paga 108-117
le-stminairC'-trouver-de-nouvdles-armes-colltt;e-internatlo
nal-de-philosoph ic
27 Sec p. 37 and Bernard Stiegler and Ars InduSlfi:IIi�.
RimdHlmt, II' /1/01111:1' In mltll' npn', (/Jlllrt II' populilllll'
il/d,mritl (Paris: Flammarion. 2(06), pp. 49-55 forthcom
ing in English translation from Continuum.
28 5« Andti l.cmi-Gourhan. Militll rt udmiqun (Paris: Albin
Michel, 1�45).
29 Sec Jacquo: Derrida. ·Diffcranc(.� MII'Silll of 1'/}i/olOpb,
(Chicagu: Universiry ufChicago. 11)72).
30 l..croi-Gouman. Militll l't tuhl/iqun. p. 334.
31 These icndencieJ :ue Ihc rauh of IhC' play of twO forcC's:
physical fotcC$ and biological foretS. On Ihis subjca. itt
141
N O T E S TO I' A G E S 1 2 4- 1 2 8
(;riM.
33 lhis nolion of Mm::ln::lgeri::lJ oog.m::lrismM com" from Pierrc
�cndrc. in l)ominium Muntli, L �mpirt till Itllflm
lllgmlr
(Paris: Millc CI unc nuiu, 2007).
34 A mC{::Ismblc '}'Stcm is a dyn�mic system at thc limit
of tGullibrium ::Ind disequilibrium. and GUben Simondon
shows th::lt :II process of lndh'iduation constitutes a dynamic
system rcgulat«l through such a metastability. See Gilbcn
Shnondnn. L 111t1itlitllltuiDII prydJiql1r if cD//«tilli (paris:
Aubier, 2007), forthcoming in English tran51ation from
University of MinnOOf;! PreM"o
35 Set' p. 45.
36 Sec Gilbcrt Simoudnn. 011 motif ,/rxiUrII(t tin objru t«/)
niqlltf (P:l.ris: Aubler, 1989). pp. 20-3, (o"heoming in
English tr.lllSl;!!ion from Uni\'Crsiry of Minncsot;! Prm.
37 We worked then with Alain GifF.ard and for thC' devdopmeOl
a.ssocialion of Ihe Bibliolheque NationalC' de Francc, with a
vicw to dC'\'doping Mpom for rt'ading misted by computer.W
142
I N DEX
143
I N DEX
144
lude.\·
145
I NDEX
146
Imux
147
I N DEX
n
i dusuial mlolulion 10, Ij, Iho:rary hypomn()K 30
32-3, 67, 98, 1 14, l i S, 127 �lic H...
6
infanillc 'rn�ploscnCli) 44, 83 prolcr:lli:mil.alion as loss of
infinitiulion ofd(:)irr 43, 82-4, 37-9, 40--4, 4S-50. 56,
86.93-6, 106-8 60,69
innovallon and tc1cntion;tl time 69
prm1:1ntnl l i S Iho:or�k:aI 30. 46
JOdaIiulion 0(82 IN 1l1s61111'Gir·fo;rr. S/1/I0iNIfI!Tt'
and ,p«.\II�tion 8 1-4, 90,
92-3. 102 LA TrrlJlliqlll' rtk rnnp1
in.idcr I!'ltding 93 (Stiegler) II
irulitUliuns 108 I�bof
hUcthca 128-9 dcf;nidon of and thc question
inltrlurillilicu 109- 1 1 , 1 13-15. ufpruduclion 1 2
1 1 6-17, J26 mUiation of I'), 18
intcriorirndon 18-1\1, 126 oycrdetcrmined hy the ml� (If
InlcrrncJlarinn 62 gralllmululion 1 2
ill1o:rmil1o:ncc S 1-6, 57, 69 al> vari:ablc �-:tpital 45
inu�rnalional law 1 14 l�bor po....cr
. 38-9. 40
o
i \'Otmo:nl without knowted� 43, 46
:IS anddp:uion 78-81 la"£�
desrNCtion ofS-7, 59, 69. n. :lnamnesic knowledge 000
107, 116, 124 aUfODUfo:cl proca.sing 33
new t}·PC oftcQnomic 6-7, 66, discrctization of Row of 1 0-11.
1 1 7, 122 31-3
profil as rClum on 76-7 and j»)'Chosocial indi\'idWition
sod:al ilfld polhk:al 6-7 17-8
stimulus politICS 3--6 Ush. Scon 34
bw
Jospin. Uond 20 and prolt'llIioru 69-70
on "..,.k
. ing Wttk 10. 22. 51
Kant. Immanuel, Criliqu(#/I'U" Lu.ur:1I0, MauriJ.io 21-2, 47,
RtIlS#II 8 5 1 -2. 54, 55.56
Ko:ynaianism 60, 95, 97, 99 Lcroi-Gourlun. Andri 9, 109,
knowledgc 1 1 0. 1 12, 1 13. 124-5
C'lffcriorir.:uion :lS 11m 0(29-30, libidinal o:conolll)' 2S. 27, S 1-6.
" 6 1 , 83--9. 93--6, 108. 1 1 8
infornmifll\ wilhoUi 129 critiquc of 40--4. 73--4
148
Indo<
libidinal enel'S), 25. 40. 46. 59. tendcnq of talC of prufil 10 flll
61. 68-9. 82-4. 85-6. 23-8.75. 76-7.89
88--9. 90. 92. 102. 1 16-17 �hn:ism 17. 40. 60. 75
nc:w �pp�r.mHes for production maM m�ia 96-7. 101
of%. 108. 122 Meadows tepa" 92
life force. Ihc:ory of 109 Mkmm(f l'1 dimMil (Stiegler) 53
limit. p:w:ages to the 59-60. Mnb. Dominique 20
75-6. %. 1 16-17. 121 M�ef62
logle 10.76 mcmlmulc 109
of the tf:l� 19 memo'}'
ItIgOf 10. 32. 46 C'X\crioriution of as loIS of
149
I N D EX
1 50
IlIdrx
powerlmnm- 29 37-8
Pro«:S$CS, :lnd rolc of bbor 4>-6 the imponance today 13. 28.
production 3S
and Ihe definition ofbbor 1 2 pharm�cology of the 14-44
exclusion o fworkC"r from I'bto and Ihc 28-36. 35
conditions 008 m:ruitnl fWIll all dass<'S 39
and the financial sub-splcm propmy 2 1
" new objects of publit: 5 1
gr.lmmatization of I I , 1 2 SOci3J 55-6
relations with coruumprion 4, pmftllllons 8. 66. 93-6. 106.
23--8, 50. 90-1 107. 123
profe.�rs 65. 69 <.'Conmnyof66-70. 78. 80-1.
profit 84-6,87-9
durdhlliry and toxicity 77-9 ProuSt. M�rcd 71
151
INDEX
152
IJld�x
153
INDEX
youlh. paupcriulion of 59
154