What Does Point of Expenditure Mean in Bataille? A Simple Explanation
Well, let me tell ya, this fella Bataille, he had some strange ideas ’bout spendin’ money. He called it “expenditure,” which sounds all fancy, but it’s just plain spendin’ in my book.
What’s the point of it all, you ask? Well, according to him, it ain’t just about buyin’ stuff you need, like a good pair of shoes or some flour for bakin’ bread. It’s about gettin’ rid of the extra stuff, the “accursed share” he called it. Sounds like a devil’s portion, don’t it? Like the bit of the harvest you gotta throw away or the spirits get ya.
This “accursed share,” it’s like when you got too much corn after a good harvest. You can’t eat it all, can’t sell it all, so what do you do? Bataille, he says you gotta spend it, but not on anythin’ useful. Nope, not on tractors or more land. You gotta spend it on stuff that don’t give ya nothin’ back, like fancy parties, big ol’ monuments, or what he called “non-procreative sexuality,” which I ain’t gonna get into, but sounds mighty sinful to me.
- Luxury and showin’ off: Spendin’ big on things that ain’t necessary, just to show ya can. Like them city folks with their fancy cars and shiny jewels. Waste of money, if you ask me, but Bataille, he thought it was important.
- Big spectacles and monuments: Thinkin’ about those giant pyramids them Egyptians built, or them big ol’ cathedrals. Took a lot of time and money, didn’t put no food on the table, but they were somethin’ to look at, weren’t they? That’s expenditure, according to him.
- Arts and such: Paintin’s, music, dances… things that don’t feed ya or clothe ya, but they make life a little less dull, I guess. Still, seems like a lot of money for somethin’ you can’t eat.
Now, why would anyone wanna do that? Well, Bataille, he figured if you don’t get rid of that extra stuff, it’ll cause trouble. Like a backed-up well, it’ll overflow and make a mess of everythin’. He thought if you don’t spend that extra money, it’ll lead to wars and fights and all sorts of nastiness. Sounds a bit far-fetched to me, but then again, I ain’t no philosopher, just a simple woman who knows the value of a hard-earned dollar.
He talked about somethin’ called “general economy,” which is different from the regular kind where you try to make more than you spend. General economy is about the flow of energy, and spendin’ is just part of that flow. Like a river, gotta keep flowin’ or it gets stagnant and nasty. Expenditure, that’s the part where the river rushes out and floods the fields, kinda destructive, but also kinda necessary, accordin’ to him.
And it ain’t just about rich folks, neither. Even poor folks gotta have their ways of spendin’ the extra, though they don’t have much to begin with. Bataille talks ’bout how the poor sometimes get so fed up, they rise up and destroy things. That’s their way of spendin’, he says. A “bloody social expenditure,” he called it. Sounds dangerous, and it probably is, but maybe it’s what happens when folks feel like they ain’t got no other way to get their share.
So, what’s the point of expenditure in Bataille’s thinkin’? Well, it ain’t about bein’ practical or savin’ for a rainy day. It’s about gettin’ rid of the excess, the stuff that society can’t use, even if it seems wasteful. It’s about keepin’ things movin’, even if it means blowin’ a bunch of money on stuff that don’t seem to make no sense. It’s about the big flow of energy, the comin’ and the goin’, the havin’ and the spendin’. Seems like a lot of fuss about nothin’ to me, but then again, those philosophers always got their own way of lookin’ at things.
To sum it up, the “point of expenditure” according to Bataille, is about society getting rid of its excess wealth or energy. It’s not about being useful or making a profit. It’s about spending lavishly and even destructively, on things like art, luxury, and even violence, just to keep the economic and social energy flowing. He believes this kind of spending is necessary to prevent even greater problems, like wars or revolutions.
Now, whether all that makes sense is up to you. Me? I’d still rather have a good roof over my head and food on the table. But that Bataille fella, he sure had a way of makin’ you think, even if you didn’t always agree with him.
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