Libidinal International Political Economy

Abstract

In ‘Libidinal Economy,’ a reflection that was conceived in response to Deleuze and Guattari’s seminal studies on ‘Capitalism and Schizophrenia’ (1984; 1987), Jean-François Lyotard (1993) observes that capital is the only remaining totalizing force in modern society. He adds, ‘everyone knows’ that ‘state officials’ primary duty nowadays is to ensure the health and long term stability of capital. The idea that capital is the principal structuring force in the modern world, a force that determines in a complex and multifaceted manner the set of options available to states and governments is, of course, a shared theme among the disparate range of theories of political economy, and by extension International Political Economy (IPE). But if capital is considered the only remaining totalizing force in modern society, the nature of capital itself remains curiously a mystery (Bichler and Nitzan 1996).