Exploring Scatology and Power Dynamics

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This chapter delves into the historical and cultural aspects of defecation, examining its communal practices in ancient societies and the insights gained from anthropological studies. It discusses the evolution of sanitation design, the intersection of bodily functions with power dynamics, and contemporary issues surrounding privacy and inclusion in restroom facilities.

Alright, we’re back…plumbing the depths of psychoanalytic marxism! This week we discuss Slavoj Žižek’s Scatology through Adrian Johnston’s most recent book Infinite Greed: The Inhuman Selfishness of Capital.

Jacques Lacan points out that we are born between urine and faeces, and that man is the only animal for whom waste disposal is a problem. What is the relationship between money and waste? Freud points out this strange coincidence of the highest form (gold) and the lowest (shit), so why is shit a gift that keeps on giving? What does all of this have to do with Japanese hamburgers & Marx?

We’re talking the political and libidinal economy of shit from the Scatalogical Rites of Nations & the Interpretation of Dreams to Uncut Gems, Cool Runnings, & Laporte’s History of Shit.

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Up next we have two interviews with Adrian Johnston, & we’ll see you in Paris.

Aufhebung(hole)!