Theories of the code: Debord, Baudrillard, Deleuze, Guattari

One of the distinctive features of contemporary capitalist societies is that codes do not serve to facilitate communication between individuals, nor do they organise the functioning of society. Codes do not reflect the social structure; they do not constitute the visible aspect of social relations. On the contrary, they conceal the Real. They hide the reality of social relations, the uses of objects, and the desires of individuals and social groups. Capitalism operates according to its own codes. It codifies every aspect of reality, whilst at the same time engaging in a widespread destruction of the codes of reality. The three texts brought together in this book are based on a line of inquiry concerning, firstly, the way in which capitalism utilises the codes inherited from traditional societies as well as the codes it has created itself, and, secondly, the limits of the codification of the Real, which are essentially the limits of capitalism itself.

Pagina's: 68, Paperback, Our Knowledge Publishing