The Accursed Share

Georges Bataille’s “The Accursed Share” is a treatise on “general economy” that addresses the idea of excess in economies. It implies that excess funds must be used for monuments, performances, and the arts, or else disastrous results could result. The book blends anthropology, ethics, aesthetics, and economics. The three books are titled “Consumption,” “The History of Eroticism,” and “Sovereignty.”