Capitalism and the Death Drive

What we call growth today is in fact a tumorous growth, a cancerous proliferation which is disrupting the social organism. These tumours endlessly metastasize and grow with an inexplicable, deadly vitality. At a certain point this growth is no longer productive, but rather destructive. Capitalism passed this point long ago. Its destructive forces cause not only ecological and social catastrophes but also mental collapse. The destructive compulsion to perform combines self-affirmation and self-destruction in one. We optimize ourselves to death. Brutal competition ends in destruction. It produces an emotional coldness and indifference towards others as well as towards one’s own self.

The devastating consequences of capitalism suggest that a death drive is at work. Freud initially introduced the death drive hesitantly, but later admitted that he ‘couldn’t think beyond it’ as the idea of the death drive became increasingly central to his thought. Today, it is impossible to think about capitalism without considering the death drive.

“'These incisive and often disturbing meditations take the reader to the dark heart of contemporary neoliberalism, in which ubiquitous surveillance and the quest for personal gratification eventually threaten human vitality itself.' William Davies, Author of Nervous States: How Feeling Took Over the World”

‘These incisive and often disturbing meditations take the reader to the dark heart of contemporary neoliberalism, in which ubiquitous surveillance and the quest for personal gratification eventually threaten human vitality itself.’
William Davies, Author of Nervous States: How Feeling Took Over the World

Byung-Chul Han is a Korean-born Professor of Philosophy and Cultural Studies who teaches at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK). He is the author of more than twenty books including The Scent of Time, Saving Beauty and The Burnout Society.

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