Date:        Tue, 12 Jul 94 23:43:26 EDT
From: Karen Ocana <CXKO-AT-MUSICA.MCGILL.CA>
Subject: desire and banking


On Sunday, 10 Jul 94, S. Dasmahapatra (Tutul) wrote:

>Let me begin defensively: I am a neophyte, having only recently
>begun reading Anti-Oedipus, and am hoping that reading the
>postings on this list will help me through it, and maybe even
>inspire me to read A Thousand Plateaus.  I must confess to being
>bemused by the plethora of mechanical metaphors (which, I gather,
>are not supposed to be "mere" metaphors) and the omnipresence of
>desire. ...  and other things, thus starting a thread called
"desire and banking".

Now, I've read more of ATP than of AO, by far, and I don't know
much about banking, but your comments did make me think of a
section in ATP where D&G discuss types of monetary flows (from
mutant flows, through molecular (credit) flows, to segmented
overcoded flows...)  and types of territorialities -- namely, in
the plateau entitled "1933: Micropolitics and Segmentarity".  What
distinguishes D&G's approach to, and discussion of the topic of
money and desire, here as opposed to in AO, is that there is no
longer a plethora of mechanical metaphors, nor is there that
'reactive' undertone of backlash against Lacanian constructions of
desire with its anti-psychoanalytic histrionics.  ATP does a much
better job of sociopolitical schizoanalysis deploying an 'arsenal'
of new terms, which you could call 'machinic' (as opposed to
mechanical); AO broke the ground, did the trashing; ATP is free to
blaze other trails, but also to play along the way.  And so, you
have in this plateau for example, an analysis of desire and power
(socius and politics) that begins by contrasting supple and
segmented sociopolitical constructs, by creating a dualism (like
molar/molecular), but breaks out of this by discussing two types of
segmentarity instead, and then goes on to scramble this distinction
and introduce, INTERCALATE, the notion masses as opposed to
classes, AND SO ON. I could not for the life of me 'summarize' this
plateau, although, come to think of it, it does seem to take off
where AO leaves off, in that it is perhaps the plateau that is most
directly ANTI-FASCIST ... just get a hold of the title.  It's an
additive analysis, in other words a synthesis (but not a Hegelian
synthesis), because it proceeds creatively, not merely by negation,
but by complication.  To use a machinic metaphor: the picture
doesn't grow clearer, but it does crystallize, in the sense that it
forms many-faceted patterns with a view to flows conjoining and
creating a carry-over or transference effect of the 'power'/value
of concepts, to produce new ones.

  So, you see I'm not suggesting anything easier; on the contrary,
I'm touting something more complex, more challenging, by far less
tedious, you might even say beautiful.  See  how it affects you,
and let us know.  Oh, and you'll find the page reference to
monetary flows in the ATP index, of course.

Karen Ocana
CompLit, McGill
cxko-AT-musica.mcgill.ca





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