Luxury, the Accursed Share and the Capital Gain

The confiscated excess. “Luxus” is excess and debauchery. It is the excess inevitably produced by all human society, the surplus referred to by Georges Bataille as the “part maudite” (the accursed share) and which has but two uses: to be spent by all in an extension of the democratic process, or to be used, excessively, meaning in debauchery, by a certain minority who appropriate the monopoly of the excess. As the economical mechanics of managing excess, luxury corresponds to the latter. It entails the confiscation of the accursed share for the benefit of a minority. Once this confiscation takes place, a monopoly on the enjoyment of this accursed share is established. When this happens, luxury comes into being.