Accursed Share - Georges Bataille

From The Acclaimed French Philosopher, Intellectual, And Novelist, A Brilliant Account Of The Social And Economic Costs Of Civilization In This Important Work, Georges Bataille Uses His Novel Economic Theory As The Basis For An Incisive Inquiry Into The Very Nature Of Civilization. He Introduces Here His Concept Of The Accursed Share, The Surplus Energy That Any System, Natural Or Cultural, Must Expend; It Is This Expenditure, According To Bataille, That Most Clearly Defines A Society. His Examples Include Sacrifice Among The Aztecs, Potlatch Among The Northwest Coast Indians, Military Conquest In Islam, And Buddhist Monasticism In Tibet.