A postmodern theory of general economy: The contribution of georges bataille

Abstract

One of the most important views concerning the post-industrial society is the return of the marketplace as the central economic institution. Although postmodernism has been viewed as “the cultural logic of late capitalism,” the work of Georges Bataille (1879–1962) sheds light on the idea of postmodern business in terms of a cultural shift concerning the motive of business venturing. While his contributions to political economy and business ethics still remain unknown to many of the advocates of postmodern business in the United States, Canada and Europe, Bataille formulated “a Copernican transformation” of capitalism, changing the perspectives of restrictive economy to those of “general economy.”