General and Restricted Economy in “The accursed share”: an introduction to Georges Bataille’s economic thoughttion to Georges Bataille’s economic thought

Abstract

This article is a synthesis of Georges Bataille's economic theory explained in his work “The accursed share” and in the essay “The notion of expenditure”. This synthesis is built from the inflection points between the General Economy (as Bataille refers to its own theoretical economic-political construction) and the Restricted Economy, this being the way in which Bataille refers to the traditional economic sciences. It is argued here that there are two fundamental dimensions to this distinction - the breadth of the objects of study of General Economy and its insubordination to a determined economic rationality. Also, that these distinctions are operated through two basic concepts, perverted by Bataille, those of economic surplus and expenditure.